Zahrah the Windseeker.Zahrah the Windseeker Zahrah the Windseeker (Houghton Mifflin, Sept 2005), written by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, is one of a very small handful of young adult fantasy novels that incorporate the myths and folklore and culture of West Africa. by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu Houghton Mifflin Company, September 2005, $16, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-618-34090-4 Ages 10-13 If you are looking for book with a fantastical, classical edge, you have definitely found it in Okorafor-Mbachu's debut young adult novel. The world in which Zahrah Tsami lives is one filled with the realism of Africa and the magic of its folklore and Afro-futurism. Life on a faraway planet in the Ooni Kingdom is surreal, where the Kirki village people grow their computers from CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. seeds, walk around with small mirrors sewn into their clothing (appearance is a big deal in the Ooni Kingdom) and flower bulbs are used as candlelight. As delightful as it all appears, Zahrah is having a rough time trying to navigate the preteen pre·teen adj. 1. Relating to or designed for children especially between the ages of 10 and 12. 2. Being a child especially between the ages of 10 and 12; preadolescent. n. A preteen boy or girl. life, as she is born with "dadalocks," long sprouts of locked hair with plant vines growing in them. The elders tell her that this is a sign of strength and wisdom, but shy young Zahrah is just trying to dodge the daily teasing of her classmates. She discovers another secret about herself that she knows will only ostracize os·tra·cize tr.v. os·tra·cized, os·tra·ciz·ing, os·tra·ciz·es 1. To exclude from a group. See Synonyms at blackball. 2. To banish by ostracism, as in ancient Greece. her even more: She can fly. Her best friend, the wise and brilliant Dari, has a thirst for knowledge Noun 1. thirst for knowledge - curiosity that motivates investigation and study desire to know, lust for learning curiosity, wonder - a state in which you want to learn more about something that sometimes leads the two down treacherous roads and opens their minds to information that the village has often considered taboo. Okorafor-Mbachu does an amazing job of thrilling, exciting and delivering a fantasy novel, and her pacing is superb. The botanical surrealism works so well that the reader begins to wonder: Could there be a flower bulb that actually fights up a room? You will be instantly charmed by the world of the Ooni Kingdom and reminded of heavyweight, science-fiction writers like Octavia Butler, but it is classical and absurd in the style of Lewis Carroll. The reader will identify and cheer on Zahrah all the way in this outstanding novel. |
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