Akata Witch - Spoiler Free Review

Hey everyone! Many moons ago I read "Akata Witch" by Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor. It's a young adult paranormal fantasy set in modern Nigeria and released in 2011. It is the first novel in the Nsibidi Scripts Series, and it was up for the Andre Norton Award. "Akata Witch" follows twelve year old Sunny, a football loving albino girl from New York living in Aba, Nigeria. She finds new friends and lots of trouble as she discovers her place in the world and in the community of The Leopard People. The Leopard People are Nigerian witches and currently are suffering the twisted malice of a serial killer who targets young witches. The book follows Sunny's struggles as she and her friends try to stop the witch killer. My non spoiler review is that this book was a great find and like nothing else I've read. It had a truly unique magic system, funny and enjoyable characters, and great realistic friendships. Despite the description mentioning a serial killer, I found it to be surprisingly dark with a bewitching mystery (pun intended). I highly recommend "Akata Witch" for anyone who enjoys magical realism or fantasy, supernatural or paranormal themes, and/or unorthodox coming of age stories. - Chica Stay tuned for more fun, nerdy posts!