Read This Book: Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Sunny is a Nigerian-American girl who has just moved back to Nigeria with her family. She’s also albino, which means that she must stay out of the sun and she looks different from her peers and family. She’s grown used to the bullying because of the way she looks and her American tendencies, but one day a run-in with bullies leads to a tentative new friendship…and that friendship leads to a shocking revelation: Sunny is one of the Leopard People, those who possess magical abilities. But because no one else in her immediate family has magic, she’s known as a “free agent”–and she needs to learn how to get her powers under control quickly.

I really enjoyed the magic system in this book, and how the magical society secretly coexists with the “real world” that Sunny has always known. Sunny and her new friends and fellow students Orlu, Chichi, and Sasha must learn how to maintain secrecy while attending school, going on outings, and dealing with Sunny’s protective parents. Training is essential, which is where Sunny begins to learn more about her abilities and limitations from an instructor who sends the four teens out on increasingly dangerous and eye-opening outings. The stakes always felt high in this book, but they ratchet up even more so when the teens learn that the serial killer known as Black Hat that’s been plaguing their communities and worrying their parents isn’t just a regular murderer–he’s a dangerous magic user who is killing to gain power, and only Sunny, Orlu, Chichi, and Sasha can stop him.

This is an imaginative book where the world building is carefully thought out, and many mysteries and secrets (large and small) unfold between the pages. I loved following along as our four main characters learned about their abilities and discover their place in this exciting and confusing magical world–getting up to a bit of mischief along the way–and I thought that Okorafor did such a wonderful job of creating a unique and exciting fantasy world that I felt immersed in from the beginning. I can’t wait to get my hands on Akata Warrior next!