A review by danielles_reads
Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tọlá Okogwu

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

In London, people wanted to touch my hair all the time, but it always felt wrong. As if I were a pet or some sort of puzzle they were trying to solve. No one has ever said I look like a princess or that they want their hair to look like mine.
I take a step toward the girl and bend down. Her face breaks into a wide smile, and small hands stroke the twists flowing down my back. She bursts into giggles, and I can't help but smile back.

I'm starting to realize that I prefer middle grade stories that are more quiet and personal, with stakes that may be high but not at the level of a magical world-ending conspiracy. Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun reminded me of the feeling I got while reading Amari and the Night Brothers last year, though I did like this one quite a bit more. They differ in a lot of ways but they both take place in a magical school with adults withholding information and very very evil villains. There are a lot of stories written for all ages with mustache-twirling villains, and I do give more allowance for that trope in middle grade stories, but I still don't really enjoy them.

I did like this book for most of it though. I liked Onyeka's relationship with Cheyenne, though sadly it was only really a small part of the book. I loved seeing her warm up to Adanna, especially when Onyeka realized the parallels between people at home making fun of her and people at AOS making fun of Adanna, and how she became the friend for someone else that she always wanted for herself. Simple, wholesome lessons like these are my favorite parts of middle grade stories. The two boys in their group,  Niyì and Hassan, were a bit more flat but I liked the snippets of Niyì's childhood and how that affected his relationship to AOS.

And as someone with curly hair (in the 2c-3a range though), I loved to see Onyeka learn to love her hair. I did think her hatred of it was a little over-the-top, but mostly because we never see anyone actually judge it and only see it from Onyeka's point of view (which will always be skewed as an insecure child). But regardless, it was still beautiful to see her connect with Adanna over her hair (and their favorite curly YouTuber!), and how her hair became easier to deal with as she started appreciating it more. I do wish her hair factored into the story a bit more as that was the primary reason I picked this up. The book focused more on the world-ending magic side of things like I mentioned earlier.

I was surprised by the world-building, as it seemed kind of incongruous. London felt the same as it is now, but Nigeria is completely different, a futuristic utopia almost. I know this is for kids so I don't expect an entire history lesson but it was still kind of jarring. I do like the idea of an African nation more advanced than other countries though, and I'm glad kids can see this.

Most of my annoyances with the book are about the ending. There were quite a few times throughout the book that I found Onyeka mildly annoying, as the narrative would explain something but Onyeka still wouldn't get it until another character explained it in straightforward terms to her. It was a little frustrating to feel like the MC is always one step behind me, but to be fair, she is almost 20 years younger than me lmao so I accepted that. But my biggest gripes were the super long blatantly mustache-twirling villain speech straight out of a Scooby Doo cartoon, Onyeka and three other kids easily overpowering at least ten of this supposedly powerful villain's soldiers (a villain who intimately knows the power of the Solari...), and the massive cliffhanger ending that felt like the author just got tired of writing and wanted the book to end. This book doesn't feel like it stands on its own, as the pacing is so wonky with so much build-up only to be finished with an evil monologue. I thought most of the book had a good amount of depth and nuance for a kid's book, but the ending felt so flat.

There were also some inconsistencies with Onyeka's sickness and her characterization that I found distracting. She seemed to only get sick from her powers when the author felt like it, as she was barely sick after the huge battle at the end. I also didn't like how Onyeka got so attached to her Ike (that made her sick!) so quickly, without acknowledging the appreciation it gave her for her hair. It didn't make sense to me that the ending revolved around her not wanting to lose the power she had only had for a few weeks (days? unclear how much time has passed).

The audiobook narrator was quite brilliant, and her flow and tone were perfect for a middle grade book. The only mildly annoying thing for me was that she often spoke dialogue a LOT faster than the descriptive text, so I had to either rewind a lot or deal with slower narration otherwise. Niyì's name also sounded like "me" quite a few times, which was confusing since the book is written in first person narration, so I often thought passages referring to Niyì were talking about Onyeka.

Overall I think this is a great book for the middle grade audience it's intended for, and I'm glad it exists, especially for Black children.

"I've always been the odd one out, even here."
"I get it. I don't fit in here either, but it's not always a bad thing," she replies with a grin. "Besides, it's not as if you can change who you are, so you might as well own it."