Book Review: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Binti is book one in a series that eagerly awaits its third volume. Binti is a young woman gifted with a combination of mathematical, engineering, and diplomatic skills with the tried and true eagerness to know more than her hometown. And with that framing comes her family's insistence that she stay put and follow tradition. But we meet Binti as she makes a run for her chosen path and into the great unknown world of university.
As the only one of my sisters to leave home for university and having worked on a campus full of first-generation university students this story hit home like a dagger. Binti's awkwardness at traveling alone, being an only, and negotiating space where "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" does not hold true is something many readers may feel deeply.
This is a scifi, speculative fiction story. One where the settings seem normal except for the fantastical technology that is ordinary to our hero. Binti also stumbles into violence that can be too much for younger readers, but should be ok to most teens.
Many have said that speculative fiction allows us to explore our current issues in a different universe. Binti certainly does this. Okorafor takes the almost-trope of a girl breaking out of her family and delivers to us a fresh and innovative tale of her discovering courage and belief in her abilities.
This book is a must for anyone who feels like they were a pioneer in their own lives, whether you were the first in your family to go away to college or the first X in your company. This is not a fish-out-of-water tale, rather how the fish got everyone else in the ocean with her.
[ Order your a copy at Powells or IndieBound ]
Disclaimer: I bought this book myself.
