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lovelyannalee's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A really fun and cool take on identity, culture, colonialism, and knowledge! I really do wish that it was a bit longer because the ending felt a bit rushed and wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped it would be, but I still enjoyed it a lot!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gore, Confinement, Child death, Genocide, and Death
Moderate: Colonisation and Racism
Minor: Cultural appropriation
rchristine11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I loved this short read. And I’m always excited when mathematics gets to play a role.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
skai's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Binti is the most lovable character, and the world of this book breathes with colour. I can’t believe such a short book had such an impact on me. Thank you for this beautiful taste of the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Cultural appropriation
ejb44's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor centres itself on Himba woman Binti who decides to go against what her village expects of her and go to university. On this journey she faces one of the hardest experiences of her life, one that will follow her through the rest of the series and be a key factor in her trauma-healing and decision making. From themes of identity and culture-mixing to friendship and family struggles, Okorafor doesn’t fail to beautifully explore what it means to be from various cultures.
For such a short book, Okorafor manages to create such a detailed world without compromising character and plot development. This skill is fairly unique, and I think the balance between these three aspects of a novel entangle with each other so well. Every aspect of the science fiction in this novel is capitalised to its maximum, without feeling overbearing like I felt it did in her other novel Lagoon.
Okorafor’s exploration of identity, migration and how others’ perceptions of you can shape those aspects of your life really root this story – it is obvious from the beginning the message she is trying to put across. By placing themes of migration and identity in a post-colonial context and exploring these conversations free from European influence, Okorafor is expanding the limitations faced by black women. These themes permeate the other books in the series and never once become repetitive. The message really hit home for me, as someone who has grown up not really fitting in with any other culture in my family (the perks of growing up with parents from two countries!). Okorafor brings in her own ideas as she is Nigerian but was raised in America, and you can tell from the writing it really is a topic that means a lot to her and is close to her heart.
Overall this book is fantastically brilliant, short, vibrant and deals with important topics in such a short space of words. I would also recommend the book Shame On Me by Tessa McWatt to accompany you’re reading of this series as it deals with the same subjects from a non-fiction point of view.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
whattaylorreads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Genocide
idlereader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Xenophobia, and Violence
emmanating's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Binti is about a girl who leaves her home expecting one thing and receiving another. It's a shorter read and the book doesn't spend time on unimportant aspects of the story, but as a result the story can feel rushed at times. The descriptions are beautiful though, and I was invested from the first page.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Genocide
Minor: Racism and Racial slurs
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