Oak Hill Public Library

Who Fears Death

by Nnedi Okorafor

Publishers Weekly Well-known for young adult novels (The Shadow Speaks; Zahrah the Windseeker), Okorafor sets this emotionally fraught tale in postapocalyptic Saharan Africa. The young sorceress Onyesonwu-whose name means "Who fears death?"-was born Ewu, bearing a mixture of her mother's features and those of the man who raped her mother and left her for dead in the desert. As Onyesonwu grows into her powers, it becomes clear that her fate is mingled with the fate of her people, the oppressed Okeke, and that to achieve her destiny, she must die. Okorafor examines a host of evils in her chillingly realistic tale-gender and racial inequality share top billing, along with female genital mutilation and complacency in the face of destructive tradition-and winds these disparate concepts together into a fantastical, magical blend of grand storytelling. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal In her astonishing debut, Okorafor has created a desolate, postapocalyptic Africa of endless desert, failing technology, superstition, and magic. But life is not without hope. Prophesy speaks of a sorcerer who will change the future, end the wars and slavery, and reunite the people. Onyesonwu is a child of rare talent. Conceived by rape, physically different from her peers, Onyesonwu has the light skin, fair hair, and freckles that traditionally mark her as unworthy, frightening, ugly, and evil. But rather than accepting her outcast role, a defiant Onyesonwu uses her magic to prove herself, avenge her mother's rape, and lead her people. Verdict Beautifully written, this is dystopian fantasy at its very best. Expertly exploring issues of race, gender, and cultural identity, Okorafor blends future fantasy with the rhythm and feel of African storytelling.-Jennifer Beach, Indiana State Lib., Indianapolis (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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