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A review by skylarkblue1
Onyeka and The Academy of the Sun by Tọlá Okogwu
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Representations: https://trello.com/c/K55VC7tP/119-onyeka-1-onyeka-and-the-academy-of-the-sun-by-t%E1%BB%8Dl%C3%A1-okogwu
I really loved the world of this, and Onyeka herself was such a strong protagonist! Unfortunatly though I think there was maybe a couple too many characters, and the way the plot was spread out and ended needs a revise. I wouldn't call how it ended a cliffhanger, it just felt unfinished and like someone ripped out some pages from the back of my book. I thought there was a lot left in the version I had, but it was just a long authors note, acknowledgements, and then an excerpt of book 2... really hate when publishers do that.
Onyeka was just such a compelling main character. She was strong, yes, but it felt believeable and not a "chosen one" situation at all. She also really just felt like a kid, I'm not sure why people are giving negative reviews based on an "unrealistic home life" and not believing Onyeka would just not know anything but like... it happens all the time with divorced parents, abandoned kids, etc? Kids don't want to believe the worst, and the remaining parent often doesn't want to make the other parent out to be a villain or something so lies are often told and believed.
The other characters were a mix though, Hassan and Adanna were the main 2 side characters that stood out to me and were memorable and the rest kinda merged together or I just forgot about until they popped up like Cheyenne. I'd have loved to read more of Cheyenne but she popped up just so infrequently and kind of at random that she was more of a memory in the book than an actual character despite being such a massive part of the first part of the book (before Onyeka goes to Nigeria).
Oh the world though, that world is fantastic! I've been consuming quite a bit of Nigerian content for a bit now and one of my favourite things is the beautiful mix of languages, and that comes across really strongly! Oh and that food, mmmm I got hungry while reading this for sure! Since it's also not mentioned at the start of the book (at least from what I can see/in my version), there is a glossery and language guide (for Pidgin English) in the back of the book next to the authors note! They're not massive, but I think they do a good enough job for anyone unfamiliar to any of it.
Though, I have no idea why it was set in 2025, it's a sci-fi but... a contempory sci-fi. Even though the book is a couple years old now, it's not that old aha..
The plot is a bit of an odd one, it feels like barely anything happens in this book, but at the same like too much is trying to be done. There's a whole tournament thing, a genetic mystery, character in-fighting, family drama and all sorts. Nothing really feels fleshed out too much (especially the tournament... why couldn't we have had more of that scene :'), and basically nothing is resolved by the end, it just opens up more questions.
I would still recommend it, but with a huge note of "this absolutely cannot be read on its own". I'm also super interested to learn more about the supposed movie that was meant to be being made. Not sure what happened to that, seems like it got announced in 2022 and then just.... never mentioned again sadly. Hopefully it's still in the works, it would make for a good film I think if done faithfully. Pacing would also fit a film much much better.
I really loved the world of this, and Onyeka herself was such a strong protagonist! Unfortunatly though I think there was maybe a couple too many characters, and the way the plot was spread out and ended needs a revise. I wouldn't call how it ended a cliffhanger, it just felt unfinished and like someone ripped out some pages from the back of my book. I thought there was a lot left in the version I had, but it was just a long authors note, acknowledgements, and then an excerpt of book 2... really hate when publishers do that.
Onyeka was just such a compelling main character. She was strong, yes, but it felt believeable and not a "chosen one" situation at all. She also really just felt like a kid, I'm not sure why people are giving negative reviews based on an "unrealistic home life" and not believing Onyeka would just not know anything but like... it happens all the time with divorced parents, abandoned kids, etc? Kids don't want to believe the worst, and the remaining parent often doesn't want to make the other parent out to be a villain or something so lies are often told and believed.
The other characters were a mix though, Hassan and Adanna were the main 2 side characters that stood out to me and were memorable and the rest kinda merged together or I just forgot about until they popped up like Cheyenne. I'd have loved to read more of Cheyenne but she popped up just so infrequently and kind of at random that she was more of a memory in the book than an actual character despite being such a massive part of the first part of the book (before Onyeka goes to Nigeria).
Oh the world though, that world is fantastic! I've been consuming quite a bit of Nigerian content for a bit now and one of my favourite things is the beautiful mix of languages, and that comes across really strongly! Oh and that food, mmmm I got hungry while reading this for sure! Since it's also not mentioned at the start of the book (at least from what I can see/in my version), there is a glossery and language guide (for Pidgin English) in the back of the book next to the authors note! They're not massive, but I think they do a good enough job for anyone unfamiliar to any of it.
Though, I have no idea why it was set in 2025, it's a sci-fi but... a contempory sci-fi. Even though the book is a couple years old now, it's not that old aha..
The plot is a bit of an odd one, it feels like barely anything happens in this book, but at the same like too much is trying to be done. There's a whole tournament thing, a genetic mystery, character in-fighting, family drama and all sorts. Nothing really feels fleshed out too much (especially the tournament... why couldn't we have had more of that scene :'), and basically nothing is resolved by the end, it just opens up more questions.
I would still recommend it, but with a huge note of "this absolutely cannot be read on its own". I'm also super interested to learn more about the supposed movie that was meant to be being made. Not sure what happened to that, seems like it got announced in 2022 and then just.... never mentioned again sadly. Hopefully it's still in the works, it would make for a good film I think if done faithfully. Pacing would also fit a film much much better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Racism, and Vomit
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Death, Blood, and Abandonment