Children’s Book Review: Akata Witch/What Sunny Saw in the Flames

Title: Akata Witch/What Sunny Saw in the Flames Author: Nnedi Okoroafor Publisher: Cassava Republic Press Number of pages: 229 Type of Book: Fiction, African Age: 9+ Price: N 800   MY SUMMARY Sunny is a 13-year-old Igbo girl who grew up in New York and had a pretty ordinary life until she moved back to Nigeria and discovered that she had magical powers. The book follows her journey as she learns about the Leopard people, explores the world of Leopard Knocks and becomes part of a team of four groomed by the Leopard people to stop Black Hat Otokoto and Ekwensu from destroying the world. This is one of my 10 best books of the year and I recommend it to EVERYONE especially people with a special liking for magical realism. THUMBS UP AND DOWN UP: Leopard Knocks (the West African Headquarters for the Leopard People), the explosive tainted pepper soup and walking books amongst other quirky elements made this a fascinating read for me. DOWN: It ended abruptly. I will stop here to avoid spoilers. RATING Five stars TRIVIA 1. What was the title of the slim, green book with tiny black legs, that taught Sunny lots of things about the Leopard people? Fast Facts for Free Agents 2. What currency did the Leopard people use? Chittim 3. Which mentor was called the Defender of Frogs and All Things Natural? Anatov 4. What exploded over Sunny’s head in Leopard Knocks? TUNGWA: A floating bag of warm wet air containing teeth, bone, red chunks of raw, rotten meat and tufts of hair.  

Next Book of the Week: Readers’ Theatre Twelve Plays For Young People by Mabel Segun

  The book is available here