Zahrah the Windseeker, by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

A completely adorable children's science-fantasy set on an Africa-derived planet in which Earth is a legend and most of the technology is biological. I am a complete sucker for biotech, not to mention science-fantasy, and the extravagant invention and playfulness of the world gives the novel enormous charm.

All the best books about plants are written by northeasterners, be they about pruning your office building or growing and maintaining the perfect personal computer from CPU seed to adult PC.

Zahrah Tsami is born with dadalocks - dreadlocks with vines growing in them. This marks her as potential trouble in her conformist culture, so she grows up quiet and shy, keeping her head down and trying to ignore the teasing from other kids. She gains the ability to levitate with menarche, but since she's afraid of heights she's reluctant to explore it.

But her best friend, the young radical Dari, persuades her to venture with him into the Forbidden Greeny Jungle, where he can explore and she can, maybe, learn to fly. He promptly gets bitten by a deadly snake, and the only antidote is the egg of the scariest creature in the very scary scary jungle... into which Zahrah ventures, armed only with a grumpy compass, a malfunctioning digi-book, and a talent she's afraid to use.

Though the prose is overly simplistic and sometimes clunky, the setting is so great, and the tone is so sweet and playful, that I read this with a huge smile on my face. It's also one of the few American children's fantasy novels with an African (ish) heroine, written by an African-American author, AND with a black girl on the cover, so it could probably use some support.

Zahrah the Windseeker

Comments

[esmeraldus-neo.livejournal.com]

Her new one, Who Fears Death, is really good so far. I've nearly finished it.

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

I also enjoyed Zahrah the Windseeker, especially the digi-book entries.

[rcloenen-ruiz.livejournal.com]

Ah, I shall look for this book next. Is this set in the same world as The Shadowspeaker?

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I think so, but I only just acquired that one and haven't read it yet.

[sanguinity]

Shadowspeaker is set in a multiverse; it turns out that Windspeaker is set in one of the worlds of that multiverse. There is setting overlap between the two books.

[zahrawithaz.livejournal.com]

It's set in the same universe as The Shadow Speaker, but not the same world. Zahrah takes place in Ginen, which is (if I remember right) the original world; our Earth and three other worlds are reflections of it. Zahrah's people treat Earth as a myth.

But basically the books are related, and I think reading one will enhance your enjoyment of another.

[rcloenen-ruiz.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I am looking forward to reading more of Nnedi Okorafor. I really liked The Shadow Speaker.

[moseley2010.livejournal.com]

I'd like to read Zahrah the Windseeker. What section should I look for the book?

African American writers (http://www.21blackstreet.com)

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Either children's books, young adult books, or acience fiction and fantasy.

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

I don't think the prose is overly simplistic for the age group it's aimed at, honestly. It's not YA.