''Akata Witch'' (retitled ''What Sunny Saw in the Flames'' in Nigeria and the UK) is a 2011

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novel written by

Nigerian American Nigerian Americans (; ; ) are Americans who are of Nigerians, Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigrants residing in the United States is rapidly growing, expanding from a small 1980 population of 25,000. The 2022 American Community S ...

author

Nnedi Okorafor Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels '' Who Fears ...

. It was nominated for the

Andre Norton Award The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (formerly the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy) is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to the ...

and it is the first novel in her ''The Nsibidi Scripts'' series; it is followed by two sequels, '' Akata Warrior'' (2017) and '' Akata Woman'' (2022).

Background

Nnedi Okorafor based the novel in

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, and African cosmology, folklore, and tradition to create many of the entities and spirits in the novel.

Plot

Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue was born in America yet lives in

Aba, Nigeria Aba is a city in southeastern Nigeria. It lies along the west bank of the Aba River and is at the intersection of roads leading to settlements such as Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Ikot-Abasi. Aba was established by t ...

. She is Nigerian, Black and

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

, and cannot go out in the sun for long periods because of her albinism. Sunny discovers that she has magical abilities which makes her a "free agent" in the magical community called the Leopard People in West Africa. As a free agent, she needs to learn about the magical community. Her magical teachers connect her with three other magical students to become an Oha coven, a group of Leopard People assembled to pursue a purpose. The group is cultivated by leaders in the magical communities to try to capture Black Hat Otokoto, a Leopard serial killer.

Characters

* Sunny Nwazue is an American-born Nigerian. Aged 12 and

, Sunny loves to play soccer but is unable to spend long periods in the sun. Because of her pale skin and hair, people call her a witch. *Orlu is Sunny's classmate at school and a "Leopard Person" his trait is that he can "undo things" *Chichi is Orlu's friend who becomes close with Sunny. Chichi is very intelligent, she doesn't go to school. *Sasha is another American-born Nigerian. He was sent to Nigeria by his parents as punishment for using his magic inappropriately. * Black Hat Otokoto is the main antagonist of the novel. A powerful Leopard Person, he targets children for his rituals.

Themes

The novel deals with themes of

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

, and dealing with whatever gifts or curses life provides.

Publication history

The novel was published as ''What Sunny Saw in the Flames'' in both

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and the UK; ''akata'' has a derogatory meaning in

dialects. The original edition's title is meant to face and criticize its derogatory meaning.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called the novel "ebulliently original." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' recommended it as one of "7 great fantasy novels for teenagers," saying that Okorafor "weaves an enchanting spell in this book and its sequel." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said "in an increasingly globalized world, Okorafor's outsider perspective offers a refreshing Afro take on the popular coming-of-age fantasy genre." ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' recognized the book as one of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, praising Okorafor's use of Nigerian folk beliefs and rituals. Okorafor's ''Akata'' novels have been met with resistance among religious conservatives in Nigeria, who argue that the novels glorify superstition and witchcraft.

Awards

''Akata Witch'' received the following awards and accolades: * 2019: American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten

Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults The American Library Association's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, formerly Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, is a recommendation list of audiobooks presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division. The Yo ...

* 2012:

Amelia Bloomer Book List Rise: A Feminist Book Project, formerly known as the Amelia Bloomer Project and compiled by the American Library Association, is an annual list of books with significant feminist content that are intended for readers from birth to age 18. The Amel ...

* 2012: ALA

Best Fiction for Young Adults The American Library Association's (ALA) Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommended list of books presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Ad ...

* 2011: Shortlisted for the

, a prize at the

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction The novel was also named an

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

best book of the year.

Sequels

The novel was followed by two sequels; '' Akata Warrior'' (2017) and '' Akata Woman'' (2022).

References

External links

Akata Witch series
author's website * {{Nnedi Okorafor 2011 American novels American young adult novels Young adult fantasy novels Novels set in Nigeria Novels by Nnedi Okorafor Nigerian fantasy novels American fantasy novels 2011 Nigerian novels Viking Press books