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INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Okorafor, Nnedi

Ikenga

229 pp. | Viking | August, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-0-593-11352-3 $16.99
(2) 4-6 His father, the police chief, is dead, and eleven-year-old Nnamdi knows who murdered him--the Chief of Chiefs, an infamous criminal in their Nigerian province. Vowing to bring justice, Nnamdi is unsure how to proceed until a supernatural encounter on the day of his father's memorial celebration leaves him in possession of an artifact known as an Ikenga, a "place of strength." With the Ikenga, Nnamdi gains the ability to shapeshift into a seven-foot-tall shadowy being who carries a strength--and a rage--similar to his favorite comic-book character, the Incredible Hulk. Simply nicknamed "The Man" by the local ­newspaper, Nnamdi becomes a crime-fighting vigilante. But as The Man's anger ­threatens to consume him (including a violent confrontation with his best friend), Nnamdi is also running out of time to fulfill his promise of bringing his father's murderer to justice. The story puts its readers on a roller coaster of action as Nnamdi battles to harness his newfound power as a tool for good. Peppering her work with Igbo phrases, folklore, and local pop references, Okorafor (Akata Witch, rev. 5/11; Akata Warrior, rev. 9/17) succeeds in imbuing West African culture throughout the origin story of a memorable new superhero.
Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

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