Akata Witch Response

Akata Witch was a very interesting read and I enjoyed every bit of it. The world described in Akata Witch, is just so distinct. The world described is just something that isn’t predictable yet there’s a familiarity about it. The presence of magical insects such as, the giant red grasshopper and a wasp that creates sculptures for praise adds a sense of fantasy to the story. Real world issues however, still occur in this story like sexism, racism and classism, which is a very interesting parallel between fantasy and real life. It’s interesting to see what the author wanted to keep in, in terms of real world experiences. I appreciate that Okorafor writes her young adults as young adults. The characters speak, argue and enter relationships and then handle these things like actual young adults; this story isn’t sugar coating anything.

            I’ve been a fan of witch related stories my whole life, I guess I just enjoy that magical/fantasy driven plot. Media such as, AHS Coven, The Craft or kiki’s delivery service have always interested me and I feel as though stories like the previously stated ones all have perfect character development. I feel like fantasy related stories tend to just focus on the magic or conflict at hand rather than giving characters a personality that viewers can relate to, such as Blair Witch Project. Akata Witch is one among money of my favorite witch related stories because this story is so different from other witch stories. There’s more to think about in Akata, not just magical and fiction but real world issues and relationships. Akata was very interesting and I would definitely read it again.