Review of Nnedi Okorafor’s AKATA WOMAN

Akata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The clearest way I can think to summarize this book is this: I intended to spend my flight home getting some additional writing done. Instead, I spent the flight turning page after page, lost in the enchanting worlds of Ms. Okorafor’s mind. (Any writer will recognize how high that praise is)

The opening from Obi Library was what it should be, with no recourse to summarizing the previous two volumes. It sent that spidery shiver skittering down the spine (at least I knew to be prepared for the spiders this time). And then Ms. Okorafor charged straight into the action, hinting at the drama to unfold with Sunny’s learning to hold time. It was perfect and exactly what anyone could ask for.

I happily lost myself in every world the coven traveled upon The Road. The descriptions and promises were fantasy genius. They soothed and taunted in a way that touched on every other exploration tale has in my memory – with new surprises. The worlds came alive on the page, and I fought against sleep to stay inside them.

This was also the first book I’ve read that allowed COVID a toehold. It was so seamlessly integrated, so natural. I expected the pandemic to feel intrusive and out of place in a fantasy world. But it took a seat at the table as an (uninvited) guest. So well handled.

The Obi Library warns that the books contain juju, and you will forever be changed upon reading them. It’s a truth you defy at your own risk. But it’s also a beauty you come to embrace.

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