Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is Potter Wakanda-tastic

A book series doesn’t exist unless the first book is any good and merits a sequel. Gone are the days when that was the modus operandi for books, not to mention those manuscripts that were lucky enough to become film. Now umpteen streaming services need content and that content must come from somewhere. Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is the first in a series of books by Tola Okogwu that was optioned for Netflix before the book was even released. Its story is perfectly summarized by the publisher’s blurb ‘Black Panther meets X-Men’, as a book that is 100% and this is mglit that knows its target.

You see, Onyeka has a lot of hair, it might sound like it could be a pejorative, but it’s not. As a child, she’s teased by some who make fun of her wily curls, which makes her a bit insecure about them and herself. Her best friend is Cheyenne, who has all of the confidence and swagger that Onyeka lacks. It’s not until Cheyenne is about to drown that Onyeka discovers that her hair has a life all of its own.

Literally, her hair extends from her head, grabs the soon-to-be deceased friend from the water, and plucks her up. This obviously freaks her out so she talks to her mom about it. Mom drops the big news that she’s a Solari, a member of a select group of people from Nigeria with superpowers that are unique to that area. Mom makes plans for her to attend the school, which boggles her mind because she accepted the claims so quickly.

Mom knows more than she’s let on to young Onyeka, and perhaps she knows more about her father’s mysterious disappearance also. Once she arrives at the Academy of the Sun she meets her fellow students, all of whom have their own powers. The headmaster already knows her family’s history, as well as, the legend of her father. Onyeka and the rest of the students are about to start their training, a series of games that will test their powers, in addition to their teamwork.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is empowering for young, especially Black, female readers. It feels odd for me to say that because I don’t see books through a lens color. However, at the end of Academy of the Sun, there’s an author’s note from Okogwu, who explains why she wrote the book. When she was growing up there were no Black, especially girl Black heroes. This got me thinking about book series that didn’t have diverse populations, which led me to visit Harry Potter.

I’ve never read that series, our kids have never been into them and I’ve only seen one of the movies. However, that series is almost exclusively white. Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun seem to have the same seeds and threads that the series has. There’s the headmaster who probably knows more than they’re letting on, the students who have carved out their niche and a main character with a mysterious past with newfound powers.

The pacing of each chapter is fun to read, with some being much shorter than others as the action comes to a climax or turning point. It’s got a handful of Nigerian Pidgeon English terms in there that add to the curiosity that Onyeka is going through at school. Those fantasy readers and Potterheads will also like The Academy of the Sun. It fills a void that exists in the mglit world that many will flock to.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is by Tola Okogwu and available on Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

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