Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Literature / AkataWitch

Go To

OR

Added: 112

Removed: 112

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* CoolBigSis: Chichi takes this role with her friends, even though for all they know, she might be the youngest.



* CoolBigSis: Chichi takes this role with her friends, even though for all they know, she might be the youngest.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ThinDimensionalBarrier: "Full" places are those where the material and spirit worlds blend into each other, like the small patch of TheLostWoods where Sugar Cream spent her early childhood. Visiting one, Sunny has the headache-inducing sight of a physical neighbourhood and a busy Wilderness market occupying the same space.

to:

* ThinDimensionalBarrier: "Full" places are those where the material and spirit worlds blend into each other, like the small patch of TheLostWoods EnchantedForest where Sugar Cream spent her early childhood. Visiting one, Sunny has the headache-inducing sight of a physical neighbourhood and a busy Wilderness market occupying the same space.

Added: 548

Removed: 422

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Dewicking Adult Fear per TRS; replacing "Averted Trope" entry for Muggle Foster Parents with Mage Born Of Muggles.


* AdultFear: Sunny's parents don't know why she's acting oddly, only that she's been disappearing for days when there's a child-targeting SerialKiller on the loose and that she's started behaving the same way her grandmother did before she herself was murdered.



* AngerBornOfWorry: Sunny's parents don't know why she's acting oddly, only that she's been disappearing for days when there's a child-targeting SerialKiller on the loose and that she's started behaving the same way her grandmother did before she herself was murdered.



* MageBornOfMuggles: Sunny's parents have no juju, forcing her to hide her activities from them to preserve the {{Masquerade}}. Leopard Person society calls such people "Free Agents" and [[CondescendingCompassion looks down on them]] somewhat for their lack of parental guidance.



* MuggleFosterParents: Averted, her parents are actually her biological parents, but they have no abilities.
** Her [[spoiler: maternal grandmother did, though]].

Added: 93

Changed: 24

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


2011 book by Creator/NnediOkorafor. 12-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. She looks West African, but is so sensitive to the sun that she can’t play soccer during the day, due to her albinism. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi reveal that they have magical abilities--and so does she. They are all "Leopard People", or people with magical abilities. Sunny is a “free agent", or someone who has magical powers without a relative having them. And she has a lot of catching up to do.

to:

2011 book by Creator/NnediOkorafor.Creator/NnediOkorafor, first in the Nsibidi Script series. 12-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. She looks West African, but is so sensitive to the sun that she can’t play soccer during the day, due to her albinism. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi reveal that they have magical abilities--and so does she. They are all "Leopard People", or people with magical abilities. Sunny is a “free agent", or someone who has magical powers without a relative having them. And she has a lot of catching up to do.


Added DiffLines:

The Nsibidi Script series continues with ''Akata Warrior'' (2017) and ''Akata Woman'' (2022).
Tabs MOD

Removed: 162

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* MixedAncestry:
** Chichi's mother is Efik and her father is Igbo.
** [[spoiler: Sunny's grandmother was a Leopard while her other three grandparents were Lambs.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Heroic Albino is being dewicked, and this doesn't fit into the soon-to-launch Albinos Are Freaks


* HeroicAlbino: Sunny. Her coloring is an indication not of her magic, but of her innate talents.

Added: 197

Changed: 389

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* AdultFear: Sunny's parents don't know why she's disappearing for days when there's a child-targeting SerialKiller on the loose, only that she's started behaving the same way her grandmother did before she herself was murdered.

to:

* AdultFear: Sunny's parents don't know why she's acting oddly, only that she's been disappearing for days when there's a child-targeting SerialKiller on the loose, only loose and that she's started behaving the same way her grandmother did before she herself was murdered.



* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Why a bunch of inexperienced kids are the ones sent after Black Hat.

to:

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Why a bunch of inexperienced kids are the ones sent after Black Hat. [[spoiler:It's what lets them succeed where many more experienced Leopard People died.]]



* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: After the climax of ''Akata Warrior''--did Sunny just [[spoiler:eat kola with the Supreme Being?]]

to:

* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: After the climax of ''Akata Warrior''--did Sunny just [[spoiler:eat kola with the Supreme Being?]]Being? Yes, but even Sunny has no clue why.]]



* LiminalBeing: Leopard People stand astride the physical and spirit worlds; they are simultaneously human in their current incarnation and eternal spirits that manifest through their Spirit Faces.



** Chichi. Her full name is Chijioke.
** Sugar Cream, at least as far as anyone can tell.

to:

** Chichi. Her Chichi's full name is Chijioke.
Chijioke. Others use her full name in special situations, but she never does.
** Sugar Cream, at least as far as anyone can tell. It's implied that her real name is her private Spirit Name, like the spirit apes who raised her, which would explain why she doesn't share it.

Added: 1329

Changed: 474

Removed: 95

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* AdultFear: Sunny's parents don't know why she's disappearing for days when there's a child-targeting SerialKiller on the loose, only that she's started behaving the same way her grandmother did before she herself was murdered.



* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: After the climax of ''Akata Warrior''--did Sunny just [[spoiler:eat kola with the Supreme Being?]]



* DoubleStandard: Sunny is often treated worse than her brothers because she is a girl.
** She also has to do a harder tryout for the Zuma Nationals soccer game because she is a girl.

to:

* DoubleStandard: Sunny is often treated worse than her brothers because she is a girl.
**
girl. She also has to do a harder tryout for the Zuma Nationals soccer game because she is a girl.



* InitiationCeremony: Sunny's is fairly uncomfortable, and there are implications it could have killed her.

to:

* InitiationCeremony: An instructor awakens a Leopard Person's power with a rite that briefly sends them through the [[SpiritWorld Wilderness]]. Sunny's is fairly uncomfortable, and there are implications it could have killed her.



* LivingADoubleLife: Said verbatim multiple times.

to:

* LivingADoubleLife: Said verbatim multiple times. Sunny comes to realize that both her Leopard Person and family lives are intrinsic parts of her, but it still leaves her feeling like she's not fully a part of either world.
* MagicWand: A ''juju knife'' acts as a conduit for a Leopard Person's power and is essential to work many kinds of juju. The knife chooses the owner, who can never work juju with another knife unless the original is destroyed. Junk Man sells them, but says nothing about where they come from.



* MixedAncestry: Chichi's mother is Efik and her father is Igbo.

to:

* MixedAncestry: MixedAncestry:
**
Chichi's mother is Efik and her father is Igbo.



* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Chichi. Her full name is Chijioke.

to:

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: OnlyKnownByTheirNickname:
**
Chichi. Her full name is Chijioke.



* SpiritWorld: The Wilderness is a timeless otherworld that [[LayeredWorld overlays]] the physical world and is home to spirits of all types. Leopard People can partially or fully enter the Wilderness, though the latter essentially means dying and returning.



* ThinDimensionalBarrier: "Full" places are those where the material and spirit worlds blend into each other, like the small patch of TheLostWoods where Sugar Cream spent her early childhood. Visiting one, Sunny has the headache-inducing sight of a physical neighbourhood and a busy Wilderness market occupying the same space.



* WorthlessYellowRocks: The only currency worth anything is ''chittim'', and the only way to obtain it is by learning, so most Leopard People don't bother with mundane money any more than they have to. To drive the point home, the least valuable ''chittim'' is gold, followed by silver, with only copper and bronze being seen as valuable for major purchases.

to:

* WorthlessYellowRocks: The only currency worth anything is ''chittim'', and the only way to obtain it is by learning, so most Leopard People don't bother with mundane money any more than they have to. To drive the point home, the least valuable ''chittim'' is gold, followed by silver, with only copper and bronze being seen as valuable for major purchases.purchases.
----

Added: 2492

Changed: 116

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Cross-wicking from trope pages.


* [[CoolUncle Cool Aunt]]: Sunny's aunt Chinwe. Her sisters, one of them being Sunny's mother, both became doctors. Chinwe was also supposed to become a doctor because that was their father's ambition for them, but instead she became a professional dancer and married an American. Sunny looks up to her aunt because she is the only other person in the family who doesn't quite fit.

to:

* [[CoolUncle Cool Aunt]]: CoolUncle: Sunny's aunt Chinwe. Her sisters, one of them being Sunny's mother, both became doctors. Chinwe was also supposed to become a doctor because that was their father's ambition for them, but instead she became a professional dancer and married an American. Sunny looks up to her aunt because she is the only other person in the family who doesn't quite fit.



* DisabilitySuperpower: Among Leopard People, a deformity or condition usually comes with an innate knack for some sort of juju. Sunny has albinism and the ability to enter the SpiritWorld; Sugar Cream has severe scoliosis and can [[VoluntaryShapeshifting transform into a snake]]; Orlu has dyslexia and is excellent at [[DispelMagic unraveling juju]]; and so on.



* DispelMagic: Orlu has a particular knack for unravelling almost any kind of juju. He can intuitively disable hostile juju without specifically identifying it and even talk a powerful Masquerade into de-manifesting.



* FantasticFruitsAndVegetables: Plants touched by the SpiritWorld are popular in Leopard Person food. "Tainted peppers" are a favourite for soup, despite their tendency to explode or {{Curse}} the eater if prepared improperly.
* FictionalCurrency: ''Chittim'' are an outright supernatural version, spontaneously manifesting near Leopard People whenever they gain new knowledge. They're also said to disappear eventually, making it important to keep learning.



* GlassWeapon: Sunny's juju knife has a paper-thin green glass blade. The material is irrelevant compared to the fact that it's a conduit for her power, but even her more experienced friends think it's odd.
* GoldSilverCopperStandard: The Leopard People's ''chittim'' use an inverted version, adding bronze as the second-most valuable denomination behind copper.



* LanguageOfMagic: The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nsibidi Nsibidi]] writing system is powerfully magical and in some sense alive. TheArchmage Sugar Cream is an oddity for having learned to work juju through Nsibidi itself; most people use a juju knife and their native language.



* MurderIntoMalevolence: According to Orlu, creatures killed in acts of thoughtless cruelty often become unpleasant spirits. Swatted mosquitoes appear in the SpiritWorld as [[BigCreepyCrawlies much larger]], much nastier entities with [[TheParalyzer paralytic venom]].



* ProneToSunburn: Sunny's albinism [[JustifiedTrope makes her]] so sensitive to sunlight that she can only play soccer after dark. She's overjoyed when the awakening of her Leopard Person abilities negates the sensitivity.



* RenownedSelectiveMentor: Sugar Cream has never mentored anyone, but she's been considering, just this once, taking a student.

to:

* RenownedSelectiveMentor: Sugar Cream has never mentored anyone, but she's been considering, just this once, taking a student. Sunny wins her respect by [[spoiler:helping defeat Black Hat and singlehandedly banishing Ekwensu.]]


Added DiffLines:

* ScaryLibrarian: Sugar Cream is the head librarian at Leopard Knocks. Due to the importance of knowledge to the Leopard People, this means she's also at the highest rank of juju and is on its council of justiciaries -- and the library in question is a [[MagicalLibrary profoundly magical]] EldritchLocation besides.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:



Added DiffLines:

* MarketBasedTitle: Was released as ''What Sunny Saw in the Flames'' in Nigeria and the UK (which has a sizeable Nigerian population), presumably since ''Akata'' is a Nigerian insult.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Averted. Even from the shadows Leopard People do their best to help the world, it's just that they can't stop it all, not all Leopard People are willing to help the common good, and there are supernatural creatures just as eager to harm it. For one example, Sunny learns that Nigerian corruption would be a lot worse if there weren't Leopard People using jujus to fight against it.

to:

* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Averted. Even from the shadows Leopard People do their best to help the world, it's just that they can't stop it all, not all Leopard People are willing to help the common good, and there are supernatural creatures just as eager to harm it. For one example, Sunny learns that Nigerian corruption would be a lot worse if there weren't Leopard People using jujus to fight against it. She also learns she was supposed to stop the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a past life, but was thwarted.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* CanonWelding: ''Literature/TheBookOfPhoenix'' establishes that this series occurs in the same continuity by including [[spoiler: Miknistic, post-angel-ascension.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* AscendedExtra: Chukwu plays a much greater role in the sequel.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Sunny says at one point that nothing is perfect and without exception, except Library rules. A few chapters later, she has to defy them for the greater good.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* AppropriatedAppelation: ''Akata'' is actually a Nigerian slur against foreign born black people, especially African Americans. Not counting the book title, Sasha and Sunny both use it sometimes.

Added: 1184

Changed: 151

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ImpossibleTask: In order to gain a favor from Udide, you must tell her a story she does not know, which is impossible as she is the writer of all stories. Sunny manages it by telling her a story she does know, but from Sunny's perspective, so it's technically a new story.



* RedPillBluePill: [[spoiler:Chukwu gets a choice between forgetting he saw the Leopard world and keeping the knowledge under oath to tell no one else. As terrified as he is, he chooses the oath so he can protect Sunny.]]



* SavedByTheAwesome: At the end of ''Akata Warrior'', Sunny and the coven are dragged before the council to face punishment for their actions. Sunny replies by simply telling them the events of the climax, which stuns the council so much they can't bring themselves to punish any of them.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: What Sunny ''thinks'' she's doing when she terrorizes the confraternity, [[spoiler:and what she and her coven actually do when they flee Leopard justice so they can stop Ekwensu.]]
* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler:Chukwu in the sequel after accidentally seeing too much.]]



* TheTease: Chichi at times.

to:

* SuperStrength: Sunny develops this as she grows into her Nimm warrior heritage. She's strong enough to [[spoiler:''tear off Ekwensu's mask'']].
* TheTease: Chichi at times. When she falls in love with both Sunny and Chukwu, this goes up to eleven.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Averted. Even from the shadows Leopard People do their best to help the world, it's just that they can't stop it all, not all Leopard People are willing to help the common good, and there are supernatural creatures just as eager to harm it. For one example, Sunny learns that Nigerian corruption would be a lot worse if there weren't Leopard People using jujus to fight against it.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Quite a few events in history were influenced by Leopard People. In ''Akata Warrior'', Sunny learns that in a previous life [[spoiler:she was ordered to stop the bombing of Hiroshima, but the spiders she hired were tricked by a djinn and thus didn't finish the juju needed to stop the bomb from exploding.]]


Added DiffLines:

* BigSisterInstinct: Well, little sister, but when Chukwu is tortured and nearly killed by a confraternity, Sunny takes it upon herself to disband it and terrify his tormenters into leaving him alone even though she knows she'll be punished for it.

Added: 677

Changed: 1

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* FourOneNineScam: Amusingly, it seems that Leopard People are at least partially responsible for this, using juju to steal from people's accounts and other things like that.



** Her [[spoiler: maternal grandmother did, though]]

to:

** Her [[spoiler: maternal grandmother did, though]]though]].



* NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: [[spoiler:Sunny's grandmother arrives in the climax (in a way) to teach Sunny spirit touch and help her bind Ekwensu.]]



* TheWorfEffect: Sunny and the others ask why older, more experienced sorcerers aren't going after Black Hat. Well, they did. It didn't end well.

to:

* TheWorfEffect: Sunny and the others ask why older, more experienced sorcerers aren't going after Black Hat. Well, they did. It didn't end well.well.
* WorthlessYellowRocks: The only currency worth anything is ''chittim'', and the only way to obtain it is by learning, so most Leopard People don't bother with mundane money any more than they have to. To drive the point home, the least valuable ''chittim'' is gold, followed by silver, with only copper and bronze being seen as valuable for major purchases.

Added: 642

Changed: 30

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Sunny manages to singlehandedly banish Ekwensu when she escapes. Not completely, but still, Ekwensu is a masquerade capable of ending the world as we know it, dangerous enough that the scholars believe the only way to beat her is by luck, but Sunny manages to trick her into returning to the spirit world.]]

to:

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Sunny manages to singlehandedly banish Ekwensu when she escapes. Not completely, but still, Ekwensu is a masquerade capable of ending the world as we know it, dangerous enough that the scholars believe the only way to beat her is by luck, but Sunny manages to trick send her into returning back to the spirit spiritual world.]]


Added DiffLines:

* HostileWeather: In the build-up to the climax, it rains heavily and nonstop for a week to purify the world for [[spoiler:Black Hat's final ritual]]. Sugar Cream notes that no ordinary rain could leak through the library, but this does.


Added DiffLines:

* LeeroyJenkins: Sasha is as impulsive as they come, experimenting with dangerous jujus just because he can and lashing out at anyone who tells him no. He was banished from America in the hopes that they could teach him restraint. [[spoiler:Notably he's the only one not to do anything particularly impressive in the climax, as he runs forward and tries to duel Black Hat head-on who easily defeats him.]]

Added: 616

Changed: 138

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


%%* BigBad: Black Hat Otokoto

to:

%%* * BigBad: Black Hat OtokotoOtokoto, the serial killer who Sunny and her coven must stop. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that he's just one of many pawns of Ekwensu.]]


Added DiffLines:

* ChekhovsSkill: As an albino, Sunny has the ability to move between the spiritual and physical worlds and has both friends and enemies in the spiritual world. [[spoiler:One of those friends shows up at the climax, giving her the knowledge to temporarily seal Ekwensu.]]


Added DiffLines:

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Sunny manages to singlehandedly banish Ekwensu when she escapes. Not completely, but still, Ekwensu is a masquerade capable of ending the world as we know it, dangerous enough that the scholars believe the only way to beat her is by luck, but Sunny manages to trick her into returning to the spirit world.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* IntangibleMan: Sunny can do this.

to:

* IntangibleMan: {{Intangibility}}: Sunny can do this.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


Received overwhelmingly good reviews for bucking the traditional MedievalEuropeanFantasy norm and the MonochromeCasting of most Western fantasy books. A sequel called ''Breaking Kola'' is expected to be published in 2015.

to:

Received overwhelmingly good reviews for bucking the traditional MedievalEuropeanFantasy norm and the MonochromeCasting of most Western fantasy books. A sequel called ''Breaking Kola'' is expected to be published in 2015.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


2011 book by NnediOkorafor. 12-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. She looks West African, but is so sensitive to the sun that she can’t play soccer during the day, due to her albinism. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi reveal that they have magical abilities--and so does she. They are all "Leopard People", or people with magical abilities. Sunny is a “free agent", or someone who has magical powers without a relative having them. And she has a lot of catching up to do.

to:

2011 book by NnediOkorafor.Creator/NnediOkorafor. 12-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. She looks West African, but is so sensitive to the sun that she can’t play soccer during the day, due to her albinism. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi reveal that they have magical abilities--and so does she. They are all "Leopard People", or people with magical abilities. Sunny is a “free agent", or someone who has magical powers without a relative having them. And she has a lot of catching up to do.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
What The Hell Dad is being cut per TRS. Examples will be cut or moved to related tropes where appropriate.


* [[WhatTheHellDad What the Hell, Mom?]]: In a rare mother/daughter example, Chichi and her mother.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51zBx8TDsJL__SL500_AA300__9402.jpg]]

to:

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51zBx8TDsJL__SL500_AA300__9402.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akata.jpg]]

Added: 32

Changed: 2

Removed: 21

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* BigBad: Black Hat Otokoto
** BiggerBad: Ekwensu

to:

* %%* BigBad: Black Hat Otokoto
** BiggerBad: Ekwensu
Otokoto


Added DiffLines:

%%* GreaterScopeVillain: Ekwensu
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


Received overwhelmingly good reviews for bucking the traditional MedievalEuropeanFantasy norm and the MonochromeCasting of most Western fantasy books. A sequel called ''Breaking Kola'' is expected to be published in 2014.

to:

Received overwhelmingly good reviews for bucking the traditional MedievalEuropeanFantasy norm and the MonochromeCasting of most Western fantasy books. A sequel called ''Breaking Kola'' is expected to be published in 2014.2015.

Top