Akata Warrior

I found Akata Warrior more enjoyable and better put together than Akata Witch. Whereas Akata Witch felt like a series of incidents loosely strung together with a climax tacked on, Akata Warrior had drive and focus: incidents led to each other in a pretty clear and straightforward way. Sunny needs to help her brother, which leads to a punishment, which leads to a vision, and so on. I also think her character had a more clear throughline as well, in terms of (much like in the Binti books) finding her place in a society she doesn't quite fit into thanks to both time spent away from it and physical uniqueness and special abilities.

There's a lot of nice moments and good character touches here. I liked the expanded focus on Sunny's show more relationships with her family (who felt very one-dimensional in Akata Witch), especially her brother, who runs afoul of confraternity at university and ends up being partially initiated into the world of the magical Leopard People as a result. I also enjoyed the flying giant rat, the strange language of the book Sunny attempts to read, the tangled relationships among the kids, and more. After the first book, I was skeptical about the second, but I would definitely read a third. show less

I love how this series is a whole 'nother level of world building, but explains it well enough to not require re-reading the first book. The magical Nigeria is a vivid and strange place, mysteries begin to be answered, and Sunny Nwazue is starting to stand on her own. Unexpected plot twists, good relationships, and a thoroughly engrossing tale.

Ok, so, I *love* this story. A continuation of Akata Witch, we pick up with Sunny after she's had a few months to train with her mentor, and she has grown up delightfully. She still has trouble with hiding her powers, but everyone at age 13 does, and it isn't like she can just move to Leopard Knocks.

I love the consistency of the world, that the ground rules we learned in book 1 still apply here. There might be new powers or creatures, but people still have to learn to advance their powers, chittim still fall, and juju powder still makes Sunny sneeze.

I enjoy this series of books so much that I hope there is a 3rd. I could read about Sunny and her friends until she was 90 years old and dying.

The setting is occasionally more intriguing show more than the plot, but to be fair, that has to do with me, not the book itself.

100%, great job. I hope there's a next installment, or at least another book from Nnedi Okorafor. Especially teen-audience stuff. show less

Sunny Nwazue and her friends continue their training as Leopard People, learning how to use their magic and follow the rules. Now thirteen, Sunny is developing her abilities and coming to know herself, while navigating the challenge of not telling her family exactly what she's up to - especially difficult after she gets in trouble for breaking the rules while trying to help her brother.

I really enjoyed Sunny's continuing adventures in this sequel. The story wraps up in a satisfying way while still leaving an opening for a storyline in a sequel. I enjoy Okorafor's inventiveness, world-building, and ability to write compellingly for a variety of age groups.

Even more than the first, this book moves with the influence of Wole Soyinka coming more and more alive, but mixed with vibrant contemporary fantasy. I loved the first book in the series, but this second installment in the series was a book I couldn't have put down if I'd tried, and Okorafor's storytelling was ever more dynamic as the book progressed.

Truly, I'm going to let this one sink in and then dive into the next book when I can spare a whole few days to lose to it.

Absolutely recommended.

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3012900.html

A rollicking tale of 13-year-old Sunny, who is an albino Nigerian and also part of the magical Leopard Society, and must confront human and inhuman enemies to save her society. I particularly loved the immersion in Nigerian contemporary detail, adapting a lot of Young Wizard tropes to a non-Western society with great efficiency. It's still not really my sub-genre, and it loses a point or two for being second in a series where I haven't read the first, but in general thumbs up. I bounced pretty thoroughly off both the Binti novellas, but really liked Lagoon which was also firmly set in Nigeria with a difference.

The story moves quickly, interesting things happen, the characters show some development so that's good. The magic is magical, and almost everything works to get to the conclusion. The final actions in Sunny's big battle did seem a bit arbitrary and contradictory what with all those read beads flying about.