Somadina

February 15, 2025
A 15-year-old fights internal and external obstacles to save her brother after he's kidnapped. Sọmadịna and her twin brother, Jayaike, know that they're not like the other young people in their town. Instead of maturing like the others, their bodies "shot up like maize stalks, tall and thin and smooth," and the expected gifts of magic from "the primordial mother" god, Ala, at first didn't bloom in them. When their gifts finally do come, the power the twins carry is greater than anyone imagined, and it attracts the attention of a mysterious hunter who spirits Jayaike away, spurring Sọmadịna, who has never before left their island, to chase them, pushing the boundaries of her nerves. The story, set in a West African-influenced world populated by Black characters, is crafted with careful attention to the details of its magic--for instance, led by older sister Nkadi, a dịbịa (or master of medicine and intercessor for Ala), Sọmadịna is able to travel by "folding" the land to create magical shortcuts. However, the development of the characters and their relationships is less comprehensive. The world Emezi builds is tantalizing, but the opportunities to explore it are fleeting as readers are carried along in a rushed coming-of-age journey. Still, themes of moral duality and self-determination in the face of the unknowable spirituality of humans and their gods will reel readers in for the ride. Magic is packed into every corner of this lush if unevenly developed tale.(Fantasy. 14-18)

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Starred review from April 1, 2025

Gr 9 Up-The latest from one of literature's most dynamic authors borrows lovingly from Igbo culture to tell the story of Somadina, a teen girl, and her twin brother, Jayaike; they come into opposing powers: hers dark and destructive, his light and life-giving. When Jayaike is kidnapped by a greedy hunter, Somadina sets out to rescue him, leaning into the help of her only friend and her mysterious grandfather and older sister, both formidable sorcerers. On her journey, she must grapple with the trauma her family has caused and the love she still keeps for them, the destruction left behind from a generations-old war, and her overpowering loneliness. Emezi has such a hold on language: no word is excessive, packing immense potency in the way the sentences are assembled. This lends itself well to Somadina's point of view, for even as she experiences extremes, she holds so tightly to her sense of self-control, daring the world to push her to break. This is a high fantasy for young adults that comes in with a shorter page count, a boon for librarians appealing to hesitant readers. VERDICT Emezi's latest novel will help readers see beauty in the void. Fans of their work or Nnedi Okorafor's "Nsibidi Script" series will doubtlessly gravitate to this one.-Alexandra Quay

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April 1, 2025
Grades 7-12 The bite of a crocodile has created two small gods in the forms of Sọmadịna and Jayaike, twins born in a world where all children have a magical gift. Those who manifest more than one gift are taken for special training as dịbịas--except Sọmadịna and Jayaike, who were destined at birth to be dedicated to the god of creation, Ala. Shortly after the twins' gifts manifest, Jayaike is stolen away through the spirit world. Sọmadịna sets out with their older sister and half-trained dịbịa, Nkadi, to rescue their brother. The first half of the narrative is slow with an abundance of world building, but as soon as Sọmadịna leaves her village to find Jayaike, it quickens. Despite the time spent on exposition, the structure behind the children's gifts remains especially murky, though fans of the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise may be enticed to continue by the parallels between the two magic systems. Written in a poetic style, Sọmadịna's quest to save her twin carries the tone of a moving tale told as an oral history.

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