Akata Witch
Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. She looks West African, but is so sensitive to the sun that she can’t play soccer during the day. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere.
Then she learns why.
Her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi reveal that they have magical abilities – and so does she. Sunny is a “free agents,” overflowing with latent power. And she has a lot of catching up to do.
Orlu and Chichi have been working with their teacher for years. Sunny needs a crash course in magical history, spells, juju, shape-shifting and dimensional travel. Her new world is a secret from her family, but it’s well worth all of the silence, exhaustion and sneaking around.
Still, there is a dark side. After she’s found her footing, Sunny, Orlu, Chichi, and their American friend Sasha are asked by the magical authorities to help track down a criminal. Not just a run-of-the-mill bad guy. A real-life hardcore serial killer – with abilities far stronger than theirs.
Ursula Le Guin and Diana Wynne Jones are Nnedi Okorafor fans. As soon as you start reading Akata Witch, you will be, too.
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Nnedi Okorafor
Before Africanfuturism had a name, Nnedi Okorafor was already weaving its tapestry—melding ancient myth with high-tech dreams, and reshaping what speculative fiction could look like when rooted in African cultures rather than merely referencing them. Her stories aren’t just tales of distant planets or magical beings; they’re fiercely alive, humming with ancestral memory, political edge, and the uncanny rhythm of the unexpected.
Born in the United States to Nigerian immigrant parents, Okorafor has always stood at the crossroads of cultures—and that liminal space pulses through her work. Whether it’s a semi-sentient spaceship shaped like a giant shrimp (Binti), or a Nigerian girl wielding ancestral powers in the shadow of climate catastrophe (Who Fears Death), her narratives defy the conventions of both Western science fiction and traditional fantasy. They don’t just bend genre—they build new worlds from the bones of old ones.
The Nsibidi Scripts
Magic here doesn’t come cloaked in ancient European robes—it pulses through dusty footpaths, sings from hidden forests, and crackles beneath skin like lightning waiting to strike.
The Nsibidi Scripts isn’t just a fantasy series—it’s a reimagining of what fantasy can be. Set in a richly textured Nigerian landscape where secret societies rule the shadows and ancient symbols carry living power, the story follows Sunny Nwazue, a girl caught between worlds. Albino, American-born, and living in Nigeria, Sunny begins the series feeling like an outsider in every way. But when she discovers the world of the Leopard People—a secret society of mystics and scholars—everything shifts. Her strangeness, once a source of alienation, becomes her strength.
The Nsibidi Scripts consists of three books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
