The Most hated Book in My Eighth Grade Class (Akata Witch)


Akata Witch is a book about a girl named Sunny who figures out she has magical powers and there is a whole society out there with powers like hers. The book starts off very original and it even takes place in Nigeria. The problem with the book though is the rest of it plays out very similar to Harry Potter. (I have not read it but seen the movie and my brother told me about the whole book.) Now I don't have too much beef with that as this book is recognized by many people as the "Nigerian Harry Potter". But, most of my classmates disliked it and thought it made most of the book lazy. I agree with this and found even more evidence of that around the end of the book. You can skip this next part as it contains spoilers, but this is where most of my classmates and my opinions of the book came from. 

The main antagonist is supposed to be an unstoppable entity when summoned and it is summoned at the end of the book. But, in the end, Sunny gains powers beyond her limits and just tells the villain Ekwensu to return and it just disappears and then all the characters end up with a happy ending. The next day of class after finishing this book my class was outraged saying that the ending was rushed and lazy. That was also my first reaction when reading it as before my class started the book the teacher said this book was in a series. Because of this, I expected the rest of the series to have Sunny and her friends constantly try to defeat Ekwensu but I was wrong. Now I haven't read the last two books but usually, a villain is permanently gone after being turned back into dust.

Overall, I enjoyed the book in the beginning, but as the book went on it just felt unoriginal and boring. Although I do have a favorite character which is Sunny's friend Orlu so it wasn't all bad. But, I would've liked it if the book had a bit more original content or an ending that didn't feel like the author got tired of writing.











Comments

  1. KrishNovember 10, 2023 at 11:34 AM

    I think that this is a good review and I totally agree with you that it quite a bad book. Good Review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AsmaraNovember 10, 2023 at 5:26 PM

    I agree, the ending seemed very rushed and abrupt. Nice review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AddisonNovember 10, 2023 at 8:06 PM

    I totally agree with this. I never enjoyed the book and it honestly never appealed to me in the first place. I think this review is definitely fitting and accurate, at least in my experience

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ian MNovember 12, 2023 at 5:43 PM

    I remember that right after I finished the book I though it wasn't as bad as everyone in our class was saying it was, but as more time passed, I started to agree with many of the points (such as the lazy ending) they and this blog post made. Also out of curiosity I looked into the next book a bit and I believe that Ekwensu does come back (hence why Sunny just says "return"). Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Adrian SchneiderNovember 13, 2023 at 11:55 AM

    I think that what made Akata Witch ultimately fail to be very engaging is that it has so many different magical elements and ways the world works, but it introduces so many that it never pays off what it sets up. You expressed very well why the class hated the ending so much. I have a feeling the reason why we read it is because Nnedi Okorafor went to UIUC, but I also agree that at first the book was really engaging. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  6. DJNovember 27, 2023 at 1:27 PM

    I agree with you-- I never really liked the book. I think the pacing was too fast and the main character was a Mary Sue. I also didn't like the stereotypes in this book. I think it would be enjoyable though.... for a 2nd grader!

    ReplyDelete
  7. SamuelDecember 4, 2023 at 4:40 PM

    I agree with you, I personally hated the book and would struggle to stay awake while trying to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ElliotthegreatDecember 9, 2023 at 2:10 PM

    I agree with this too, It was absolutely ridiculous how the ending was and when I saw the ending for myself after people told me how the ending was like, I was like that's it?

    ReplyDelete
  9. SophiaDecember 15, 2023 at 7:02 PM

    Though I haven't watched the movies, I have read the Harry Potter series, and I have to say that it's spot on to say that this is a copy-paste of Harry Potter but set in a less well-developed world with less well-developed characters and a less well-developed plot. Another issue I had with this book -- as well as Harry Potter -- is that I HATE the "chosen one" trope. I hate when the entire book is spent discussing this undefeatable, unsurmountable obstacle (though honestly, that doesn't even apply to Akata Witch because there was zero foreshadowing in the book) and then at the end, the solution is just the main character becoming OP, as they say nowadays, out of nowhere. Anyway, it's safe to say that I hated this book, and it's obvious that most of our class did too.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Books I Haven't Finished...yet (Mateo Hernandez)

Image
Books that are still in progress... Huckleberry Finn, a Bible, and the hatchet Granny gave me.                I love reading. It’s a great way to relax and unwind after a stressful day at school, to learn, or to spend your free time. But sometimes, even if you love to read, you don’t always finish your books. Whether it’s because you lost interest, ran out of time, or got distracted, it happens to all of us. Here are some books that I haven't finished and why: 1.       The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I began reading this book towards the end of summer break when I reached a point of boredom with my free time that I couldn’t stand. So, I asked my mom to pick up some books when she ran to the library. I specifically asked for classics because I enjoyed previous ones like Of Mice and Men . She returned with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This book is essentially about...
Read more

Review of Wonder (Mateo)

Image
Review of Wonder             The story Wonde r, written by R.J. Palacio, follows a young boy named August Pullman who has a rare condition known as ‘Treacher Collins syndrome’ which deformed his face at birth. Despite his appearance, August is a normal boy: he likes his Xbox, ice cream, and Star Wars , things that any other ten-year-old would like. He has a loving mom and dad, a protective older sister, and a nice home in lower Manhattan. But no matter how many surgeries he has or how normally he acts, his face won’t ever look like everyone else’s. As the beginning of 5 th grade looms around the corner, his parents urge him to start attending a school with other children, since he has been homeschooled his whole life. Although August believes that middle school is the last place that he would want to go, for fear of being stared at and bullied, he eventually comes around and begins Beecher Prep. Once August started going to his n...
Read more

Catching Fire: Samuel Troconis

Image
Hi, I'm Samuel, and this is my review about the Catching Fire  book in the Hunger Games series.      "Catching Fire" is the second book in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games . The story continues with Katniss Everdeen, the main character, and Peeta Mellark returning to District 12 after winning the 74th Hunger Games. Despite their victory, they face challenges as the Capitol heavily enforces control and seeks to maintain order. The pair embarks on a Victory Tour, during which Katniss realizes the growing unrest in the districts. President Snow announces the 75th Hunger Games, the Quarter Quell, which involves a twist that brings previous victors back into the arena. Katniss and Peeta find themselves once again in a fight for survival, alliances, betrayal, and a rebellion brewing in the districts. After recently reading the first Hunger Games book and watching the prequel movie, I decided to begin reading the series. At the beginning of the story, Katniss begins describi...
Read more