Tag: Nnedi Okorafor

Review: Zahrah the Windseeker

“Contrary to what a lot of people think, these vines didn’t sprout directly from my head. Instead, they were more like plants that had attached themselves to my hair as I grew inside my mother’s womb. Imagine that!” page vii

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu.
Graphia, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Massachusetts, 2005.
MG or YA fantasy (see review), 308 pages.
Lexile: 720L .
AR Level: 5.0 (worth 11.0 points) .

Zahrah Tsami was born dada, with vines that grow amongst her hair. She doesn’t spend time with anyone other than her family and her best friend Dari, a charismatic boy newly obsessed with the Forbidden Greeny Jungle that borders their town. For much of her life she’s kept to herself and quietly tried her best to fit in, but puberty brings many changes. Can Zahrah complete a dangerous quest that only she is suited for? Could she ever accept her own unique self?

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu.

Every so often I come to this blog to look up a review and realize I never actually wrote one, as with this excellent Afrocentric fantasy novel for young readers which really should have been on my first diverse middle grade fantasy booklist, but will have to wait for the next one instead.

Classifying works by genre is something I probably spend too much time considering. It interests me personally and professionally, especially when there isn’t a clear answer. Zahrah the Windseeker definitely fits into a category – science fantasy. But that category doesn’t fall neatly on either side of the science fiction | fantasy divide!

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Review: Binti

“But he read my astrolabe as fast as my father, which both impressed and scared me.” page 14

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor.
Tom Doherty Associates, Tor, New York, 2015.
Adult sci-fi novella, 96 pages.
Not leveled.
NOTE: This is the first book in the Binti trilogy.

Binti is one of the Himba people, noted for their mathematical ability, never leaving their homeland, and for the clay mixture that they use for their skin and hair.  She is also the first Himba ever accepted into the home of galactic intellectualism, Oozma University, and she’s decided to attend.

Binti cover
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor.

This relatively short book covers only the journey, although she speaks about her home life and decision to apply, so we get a small taste of what her world was before this momentous journey.

If you have even the mildest interest in diverse speculative fiction, I’m sure you’ve already heard of Nnedi Okorafor.  The Binti trilogy is especially well-known as it’s won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards.  The paperback copy I picked up was the 17th printing of a book less than 4 years old.  So between the critical acclaim and popular interest, you can probably guess this is a well liked book.

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