Mason Pocklington - Akata Witch

For this week's reading I read Akata Witch and really loved it! Back in the day I was really into Harry Potter, and found this to be similarly delightful. One of the prominent things I noticed about this novel was how the character that was considered "different" by society, (being albino), was also secretly actually different in that she had magical powers, (Leopard). The theme of female empowerment is rightfully present in this novel, as it shows Sunny learning, progressing, overcoming obstacles and finding her place in society, (i.e. being magic). During the beginning of the novel even, Sunny is presented as different. When she made the decision not to use the switch on her classmates hands the reader could see that she views the world in a different light. She comes across as empowered by knowing her core values - what she likes and doesn't, for examples candles - and her overall confidence, even though she's lonely at school. 

The archetype of witches - or at least in the American sense - has been broken in my opinion in this novel. The go to vision of witches for most Americans are from, for example, the Wizard of Oz. The idea of having magical powers translating to physically looking different is lost in Akata Witch. An interesting similarity is the idea of good and evil, that all magical beings - whether in Wizard of Oz or Akata Witch - have to choose a side once they become Leapords.

Comments

  1. Backstory BenSeptember 28, 2019 at 1:16 PM

    I'm glad I'm not alone in really liking this story! I also sensed some Harry Potter vibes from this story (even though I've never read the series), and that's not a bad thing!

    I completely agree with you on Sunny. She felt like a real protagonist with compelling growth and not overly "girl power" incarnate. If only the conflict was a little more present in the overall story and this would be high on my "favorite books" list.

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