Week 5 Akata Witch (5)

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading Akata Witch, I found the flow of the book to be easily digestible and kept me engaged by not going into "hyper detail" even in the scenes with the most action taking place. Obviously, any concept that involves a young protagonist outcast that one day learns that they posses magic powers through witchcraft will always be compared to the likes of Harry Potter. Along with following similar tropes of that construct through a similar dynamic between the young "leopards" of Akata Witch living in an alternative world from the rest of society that consists of sorcery and magic spells. However, I believe the author did a good job of minimizing the potential comparison between the two stories. 

    First off, Harry Potter took place in a very "western setting" and through a "western lens." While on the other hand, Akata Witch takes place in Africa among characters that have a completely different world view and live in huts instead of a giant castle. Because of this cultural difference, the way in which the characters in the book are perceived and see the world is vastly different. In this story, the main character Sunny is an Albino Nigerian girl. The cultural stereotype where the story takes place is that those that are albino are simply "not like the rest of us." What I mean by that is they believe those that are albino could be ghosts, able to talk to ghosts, or possess magical powers. Because of this, those deemed Albino are outlasted for the most part and are at several disadvantages. For instance, Sunny loves playing soccer, however she cannot play outside during the day for that long because of the harsh effects the sun has on her albino skin. It should serve as no surprise that someone as ousted by society as Sunny is, would end up discovering that there is a deeper reason as to why she is not like the rest of us. 

    All and all, I enjoyed reading this fantasy novel from a lens and cultural perspective that I have not experienced before. I think what is really cool is that this story arch/theme can be applied across a cultural spectrum, but despite that, this story gave the reader a unique experience that is selective to the culture and practices that take place in the setting it did. I look forward to reading more books along these lines that explore traditional story tropes/themes from an alternative perspective.         

     

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