Akata Witch, by Nnedi Orokafor

     Book 1 in the Akata Witch series (or the Nsibidi Scripts Series), another OBOB book for this season, and a book being called "The Nigerian Harry Potter" in some reviews and circles. It goes without saying then that this is a fantasy story, set in Nigeria, Africa, with 12-year-old Sunny being the main protagonist. Born in New York but living back in her family's home of Nigeria, Sunny only wants what young teens want most places - to have friends, do well in school, and in this case not be bullied at school for her appearance (Sunny is albino). But Sunny's grandmother had secrets that no one wants to share with her, and she quickly discovers that those secrets have been passed onto Sunny in the form of magical powers. She becomes one of a group of four teens who are chosen to stop the pending death of the world, one she sees in the vision of a candle flame long before she knows who she truly is.

    In describing the story here the book seems better than I thought it was. I didn't dislike it, and nearer the end of the story I found myself wanting to read more to discover what was happening. But most of the time I found myself wondering why author Orokafor left out certain actions or explanations that help bridge the gap between scenes or actions. In other words, I often found myself filling in weird little gaps in the story while at the same time wondering why such an accomplished author would leave so many little gaps. 

    This book was nominated for the Nebula Award, which is an award for exceptional science fiction and fantasy books, when it was first published in 2011. So people who read a lot of books in these genres thought very highly of this story! I liked that it took place in Nigeria, and that it incorporated so much of Nigerian culture and folklore. For that I am giving it 4 paws! Also because my human asked several of the kids at school what they thought of the book, and most of them gave it enthusiastic thumbs up! But for me, probably 3 paws would have worked. I didn't want to dive right into the second book in the series, and in fact a few times I looked to see how many pages I had left so I could start a new book. Those aren't great signs of a great book. But I'd love to know what you think of it...let me know once you finish it!