From Kobe Bryant’s tweet about Children Of Blood and Bone to Taiye Selasi’s approval of Freshwater; Earlier this year you must have read something about these books on our list. In no time, they’ll be available at okadabooks.com, but just before that,- We’re sharing the summaries with you, and even some excerpts , just so you’re titillated enough to look forward to reading your very own copy.
CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for an enemy. Read an excerpt
FRESHWATER
Ada has always been unusual. As an infant in southern Nigeria, she is a source of deep concern to her family. Her parents successfully prayed her into existence, but something must have gone awry, as the young Ada becomes a troubled child, prone to violent fits of anger and grief. But Ada turns out to be more than just volatile. Born “with one foot on the other side,” she begins to develop separate selves. When Ada travels to America for college, a traumatic event crystallizes the selves into something more powerful. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind and these alters—now protective, now hedonistic—move into control, Ada’s life spirals in a dangerous direction.
Written with stylistic brilliance and based in the author’s realities, this raw and extraordinary debut explores the metaphysics of identity and being, plunging the reader into the mysteries of self. Unsettling, heart-wrenching, dark, and powerful, Freshwater dazzles with ferocious energy and serpentine grace, heralding the arrival of a fierce new literary voice. Read an excerpt
SHE CALLED ME WOMAN
This stirring and intimate collection brings together 25 unique narratives to paint a vivid portrait of what it means to be a queer Nigerian woman. Covering an array of experiences – the joy and excitement of first love, the agony of lost love and betrayal, the sometimes-fraught relationship between sexuality and spirituality, addiction and suicide, childhood games and laughter – She Called Me Woman sheds light on how Nigerian queer women, despite their differences, attempt to build a life together in a climate of fear.
Through first-hand accounts, She Called Me Woman challenges us to rethink what it means to be a Nigerian ‘woman’, negotiating relationships, money, sexuality and freedom, identifying outside the gender binary, and the difficulties of achieving hopes and dreams under the constraints of societal expectations and legal terrorism.
She Called Me Woman is full of beautifully told stories of resistance and resilience, joy and laughter, heartbreaks and victories, collecting the realities of a community that will no longer be invisible.
THE HUNDRED WELLS OF SALAGA
Two women’s lives intersect in pre-colonial Ghana.
One is enslaved. The other becomes her mistress.
A book about courage, love, forgiveness, and freedom.
Aminah lives an idyllic life until she is brutally separated from her home and forced on a journey that turns her from a daydreamer into a resilient woman. Wurche, the willful daughter of a chief, is desperate to play an important role in her father’s court. These two women’s lives converge as infighting among Wurche’s people threatens the region, during the height of the slave trade at the end of the 19th century.Set in pre-colonial Ghana, The Hundred Wells of Salaga is a story of courage, forgiveness, love and freedom. Through the experiences of Aminah and Wurche, it offers a remarkable view of slavery and how the scramble for Africa affected the lives of everyday people.
SUNNY AND THE MYSTERIES OF OSISI
Sunny Nwazue is back in this gripping sequel to Nnedi Okorafor’s What Sunny Saw in the Flames.
Sunny has settled into life at the Leopard Society, with friends Orlu, Chichi and Sasha. Her magic powers continue to grow under the tutelage of her mentor Sugar Cream, as Sunny studies her strange Nsidi book and begins to understand her spirit face, Anyanwu. But Sunny cannot escape from her destiny, and she soon finds she must travel to the shadowy town of Osisi. The journey is fraught with danger, taking Sunny through unseen worlds, and awaiting her is a battle to determine humanity’s fate. Sunny & The Mysteries of Osisi is a compelling tale combining culture, fantasy, history and magic
This list is incomplete without the Brittle Paper Titles, which will be available amongst the other books in this list, in our library, soon enough. Follow any of our social media accounts, we’ll announce as they available.
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