Oh, great, thought I, rolling my eyes. Yet another middle-grade graphic novel about poop and farts and stinks. That's all very fine and well for littlOh, great, thought I, rolling my eyes. Yet another middle-grade graphic novel about poop and farts and stinks. That's all very fine and well for little kids, but a story about someone called Toilet Boy doesn't appeal to a sophisticated grown-up like me.
That is, until I cracked open the cover of this book. I couldn't help it: I kept snickering! Outright chortling! Full-on giggle attacks! By the end of the book I was crying with laughter and miraculously cured of the grumps.
Yes, this book contains all manner of stinky stuff that comes out both ends. But don't let that stop you, readers who turn up their noses at toilet humor. Worst Week Ever: Monday is pure comic gold....more
This book features one of the best villain names in middle-grade fantasy: Black Hat Otokoto. Move over, Voldemort. "Black Hat Otokoto" is way more funThis book features one of the best villain names in middle-grade fantasy: Black Hat Otokoto. Move over, Voldemort. "Black Hat Otokoto" is way more fun to hiss at your enemies! (My thoroughly un-Nigerian ear heard "Black HEART Otokoto" in Yetide Badaki's delightful narration of the audiobook until a character with an American accent said the name—and "Black Heart" is just as spine-shivery.)
Even better, there's some seriously cool magic in this story—or juju, as it's called in West Africa. When Sunny and her friends activate their spirit selves, their faces turn into forbidding African masks. How rad is that? When they accomplish a new magical feat, tiny metal canes rain down on them from the sky, which serve as currency for witchy folk. If only Sky Mother would send me cane coins every time I learned something new. And how can your fancy not be tickled by an artisan wasp that builds you sculptures while you sleep and displays them proudly come morning (but stings you viciously if you don't admire her work)?
I do have quibbles with the plotting, though. A good three-quarters of the book consists of Sunny being taken around on a tour of her new magical society by her witchy pals and teachers, learning magic and being shown how juju works. That's not a plot, my friends. That's world-building. Yes, there is the looming threat of Black Hat Otokoto kidnapping small children, but all that happens on that front are periodic newspaper reports of his activities until Sunny and friends confront him at the end. It's as if Harry Potter spent the whole book just going to class and casually hanging out with Ron and Hermione until he faces off with Voldemort in the last bit. That would be rather dull. It's Harry's ongoing detective hunt for clues on the bad guy, and the bad guy throwing more and more dangerous wrenches in Harry's gears, that keeps the middle of the book interesting. If Akata Witch had a more driving plot, it would have probably been one of my favourite books ever....more