Review by New York Times Review
GRANT, by Ron Chernow. (Penguin Press, $40.) Chernow gives us a Grant for our time, comprehensively recounting not only the victorious Civil War general but also a president who fought against white supremacy groups like the Ku Klux Klan and championed the right of eligible citizens to exercise the vote. GOOD ME BAD ME, by Ali Land. (Flatiron, $25.99.) This debut novel's teenage narrator is speaking to the mother she loves and misses. It's a one-sided conversation because her mother is about to go on trial for murder, and her daughter is the one who turned her in. THE RIVIERA SET: Glitz, Glamour, and the Hidden World of High Society, by Mary S. Lovell. (Pegasus, $27.95.) Full of gossip about what Somerset Maugham called a "sunny place for shady people," Lovell's narrative describes the entertainments staged by the various owners of a chateau in the south of France. THE ORDINARY VIRTUES: Moral Order in a Divided World, by Michael Ignatieff. (Harvard, $27.95.) This admirable little book, in which the author grapples with whether globalization is drawing us together or tearing us apart, represents a triumph of execution over conception. FRESH COMPLAINT: Stories, by Jeffrey Eugenides. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27.) In his debut collection, written over three decades, Eugenides explores variations on the theme of failure - marital, creative and financial - while at times reprising characters from his novels "Middlesex" and "The Marriage Plot." WHY WE SLEEP: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker. (Scribner, $27.) The director of Berkeley's Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab makes the argument for why sleep is essential to our well-being: "to reset our brain and body health each day." GREATER GOTHAM: A History of New York City From 1898 to 1919, by Mike Wallace. (Oxford, $45.) A vibrant, detailed chronicle, almost 1,200 pages long, of the 20 years that made New York City the place we know today, with new bridges, the advent of Broadway and the opening of the first subway lines. COMPLETE STORIES, by Kurt Vonnegut. Edited by Jerome Klimkowitz and Dan Wakefield. (Seven Stories, $45.) Vonnegut used his early short fiction to test the themes that animated his later novels. For completists, these 98 stories (including five published for the first time) will be like a boxed set of a musician's first recordings. AKATA WARRIOR, by Nnedi Okorafor. (Viking, $18.99.) The longawaited sequel to Okorafor's "Akata Witch" is about a 13-year-old Nigerian girl whose mystical powers could save the world. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 6, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* This highly anticipated sequel to Akata Witch (2011) begins a year after Sunny unearthed secrets pertaining to her heritage and joined the secret Leopard Society. Plagued by strange dreams, Sunny endeavors to increase her magical powers by studying with her demanding mentor, and she continues to grapple with secrets that lie within her peculiar and wondrous Nsibidi book. However, the fate of humanity rests on her shoulders and time is not a luxury she has. Soon, she must step into her destiny and fight a looming, apocalyptic battle. If she loses or isn't up to the task, it will spell catastrophe for all. While the story's beginning is a bit jarring and doesn't immediately sweep you away, the feeling is fleeting. A few chapters in, the reader gets tangled up in Sunny's journey in the most delicious of ways. The lush world and high-stakes plot are fun, imaginative, timely, and authentic. Sunny as a character is beautiful, strong, and resilient, and her host of friends and allies are well-drawn and compelling, adding to the magic of the story. Okorafor's novel will ensnare readers and keep them turning pages until the very end to see if and how Sunny fulfills the tremendous destiny that awaits her.--Davenport, Enishia Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Fans of Akata Witch will fall again for the wondrously intriguing fantasy world in modern-day Nigeria in this imaginative sequel. Ekwensu, the evil spirit that Sunny, now 13, and her leopard society friends defeated in the previous book has returned. He severs Sunny's connection to her spirit face Anyanwu, and without it, Sunny feels lost and unsure of herself. The fact that the severing did not kill her means that the vision that she saw a year ago of a fiery apocalypse may come true. The prevalence of oil spills caused by companies in the Niger Delta makes the threat of a massive fire all too real. To restore Sunny's spirit face, she and the others must find the giant spider spirit Udide, ask it to spin a flying grasscutter (a van-sized rodentlike creature) for them, then fly it to the city of Osisi in Lagos to prevent the world's end. The magic in Sunny's world is not always kind or gentle, and the punishment for breaking the rules can be brutal. This, alongside the novel's portrayal of contemporary Nigeria with its cuisine, multiethnic groups speaking many languages, economic inequality between social classes, and threats against albinos, will make readers believe that this magical world could really exist. The story has playful elements too, like Grashcoatah the grasscutter and Sunny's wasp artist. VERDICT Don't miss this beautifully written fantasy that seamlessly weaves inventive juju with contemporary Nigerian culture and history.-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A soccer-loving, American-born Nigerian 13-year-old matures into her mystical powers.A few years after her Igbo parents brought their children to live in Nigeria (Akata Witch, 2011), Sunny Nwazue had learned she belonged to the mystical Leopard People. Now she alternates among regular school; Leopard training with her teacher, Sugar Cream; training with her magical alter ego spirit face; and hiding her secret life from her parents and brothers. Sunny is albino, though her magic has eliminated most disabling effects aside from a need to wear glasses. A superstitious bigot accuses Sunny (who does draw supernatural power from her albinism) of being a witch; as albino Nigerians suffer genuine harm from such accusations, the truth in this attack strikes a discordant note. The magic appears influenced by Igbo religious practices in Sunny's diverse Nigeria, populated by Muslims and Christians, where Sunny and her African-American and Nigerian friends learn magic and eat in Uzoma's Chinese Restaurant. Sunny's been having strange nightmares, possibly tied to new environmental disasters. An oracle explains that these dreams are prophetic and sends her and her friends to a magical city populated with spirits who chat on cellphones. Much like their magical world, it's "simultaneously ancient and modern West African." It's a hefty tome for a middle school read, but Sunny's an inviting character who keeps the pace moving. A charming adventure stocked with a house-sized spider, an Afro comb gifted by a goddess, and a giant flying rodentone who loves hip-hop. (Fantasy. 11-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
