I am woefully behind on my reviews, so I will have to keep this one brief: but ONYEKA AND THE ACADEMY OF THE SUN is electric, imaginative, explosive middle grade fantasy at its very best. I can see this one having wide appeal, and honestly, its books like these that make me so, so happy for the stories future MG readers will have on their shelves. I'm full of hope and joy after reading Okogwu's book, and I'm 1000% certain you will feel the same!

I didn’t get a chance to read though this one yet. However, the representation and the mythology of this story will certainly resonate with young and older readers alike.

3.5 stars.
Twelve-year old Onyeka lives a pretty cloistered life in London, the reasons for which her mother never tells her. She also has unruly, big hair, and discovers one day that it is not only difficult to manage, it’s powerful, responds to her emotions, and helps her save her best friend from drowning.

Needless to say, Onyeka’s mother is not happy that Onyeka exposed her hair’s power, and immediately decides they must return to Nigeria. And oh, Onyeka is a Solari, someone with super powers.

They go to the Academy of the Sun, a place for kids with powers, and Onyeka begins learning to harness her power. Of course threats are revealed, dangers encountered, Solari lore learned, and secrets about her absent father learned.

Onyeka is a terrific protagonist. Her relationship with her mother is a little tense, but these two love each other and it’s terrific. Onyeka is also just a lot of fun; she’s funny, smart, daring once at the school, and a good friend. She learns a lot about herself and her family, and learns to accept who she is.

The story moves along well, and there is lots of action. The story is lots of fun and it will be interesting what this author does next.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Shuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This was such a fun middle grade novel, it read very quickly and had all the aspects of an adventurous fantasy that any lover of Rick Riordan books would enjoy.
Much of it takes place in a future Nigeria that could be compared to a Wakanda-like setting, and this in itself was super empowering. The novel was taking a nation that is today often seen as corrupt and of the 'third world' and reimagining it as an energy powerhouse in the future.
Readers of this novel can expect to learn about self confidence and self love, and finding friendship and family. Onyeka herself as the protagonist starts off as quiet, shy and insecure, especially about her hair. But as the author writes in the author's note, the main character's biggest self doubt/insecurity is also her greatest strength. And I think, thinking about what you perceive to be your greatest flaws as actually your greatest strengths is powerful advice for young people.

– I am the odd one out, again – Onyeka

Black Hair is Magic and this Sci-Fi adventure story gave me all of the majesty that is our hair.

I'm a huge X-Men fan so to have this middle-grade story that shares such similarities while staying grounded in the many ways our daughters and ourselves have to fight for a pace to just be as we are was amazing.

Onyeka is powerful, but just like any Black girl has found it hard to find a place where she can just be herself without worrying about being accepted or treated differently because of her hair. Add that to just discovering the power within and it makes for an even more confusing journey to self.

But when she opens herself to the possibilities and the awesomeness that is her hair, I felt so good and could see Onyeka finally finding her place and accepting the people who were becoming he friends and family.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. My review comes after publication as I could not get the ARC to download onto any device and had to wait to borrow a physical copy. I am an Indigo employee, this review contains my own thoughts.

Another solid 9-12 read that weaves heritage and culture with adventure and mystery. A superhero style story,
(think X-men and Black Panther) 'Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun' follows the main protagonist Onyeka as she discovers her hair has magical abilities and that she is a Solari. Leaving London to attend the Academy of the Sun in Nigeria, Onyeka discovers she is not alone and that there exists a large community of young people with amazing powers that manifest in various fantastic ways.

For young readers and adult readers alike Tolá Okogwu celebrates Nigerian heritage, creating a book that is both empowering and a celebration of Black hair.

A mixed debut

** spoiler alert **

The plot of Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is like Onyeka's hair: complicated, sometimes tangled, with many tendrils constantly in motion. It all begins when Onyeka and her best friend Cheyenne go swimming in the local pool. Cheyenne is more or less the only light in Onyeka's grim London life, where she lives in poverty and persecution with her single mother (father disappeared long ago). Cheyenne, who can barely swim, gets herself into trouble in the deep end of the pool, and Onyeka, who also can barely swim, dives deep to save her. Both are drowning when Onyeka's hair comes to life and saves them.

Onyeka, naturally freaked out about her hair's autonomous activity, tells her mother. Her mother knows what is going on -- Onyeka is a Solari, and has magic. (Although Onyeka and the AOS poses as science fiction, nothing in it makes scientific sense. It is more accurate to think of it as fantasy, with technobabble substituted for magical Latin-like incantations. This is not a criticism. Most science fiction makes little scientific sense.) Onyeka's magic is a danger to her, so Onyeka's Mum decides to take her back to Nigeria to try to find Onyeka's father, who she believes will know how to help Onyeka.

They travel to Lagos, Nigeria. The Nigeria they reach is not the real Nigeria of the 2022 Earth in which we all live. It is an alternate history Nigeria. In Onyeka's world, Dr Doyinbo of Nigeria in 1980 discovered a new element, trarium, with amazing magical properties that allowed him to refashion Nigeria as a technological paradise. (I marked this review as a spoiler in order to reveal this alt-history plot twist. I will try to avoid any other major spoilers.)

Arrived in Lagos, Onyeka and her mother are met by three Solari children and taken to the Academy of the Sun (AOS), a school in which Solari children are sequestered whether or not they wish to be. It is thus a school founded on kidnapping. Onyeka's mother goes off to look for her father, while Onyeka is left behind at AOS, where she is more or less by default enrolled as a student. And then the intricate plot I alluded to above takes off in earnest. I will say no more about it, except that there's a lot of exciting action. Good stuff!

It make strike you that the facts of Onyeka and the AOS paint a grim reality: poverty, London, absent father, lonely girl with just one friend, a school full of kidnapped kids. While this is true, the tone of Onyeka and the AOS barely reflects those realities -- it is generally upbeat.

In an Author's Note Tọlá Okogwu says, "I hope that when you read this book, it acts as both a mirror and a window, allowing some of you to see yourselves reflected back and others to dive into the rich and beautiful world of my Nigerian heritage." Since I know little of Nigerian culture, I was looking forward to learning more. I found, however, that the alt-history plot was a problem. The Nigeria depicted in Onyeka and the AOS is not the real Nigeria, and I never was sure where the boundary of fiction lay. I mean, I'm pretty sure that the voice-activated self-flying AI jet plane is fiction and the AOS cafeteria food real, but between those was a lot of Nigerian politics and culture that might or might not be real.

The other thing that bothered me was the frequent feeling that I had heard this before! AOS is a boarding school. AOS students are divided into four houses that compete with each other. Does this sound a little like Hogwarts? I even asked myself early on whether there would be quidditch. (view spoiler) Now, much of this similarity to Hogwarts of course reflects the traditional House System of a subset of English schools.

Then, when you read about trarium and the Nigerian technological paradise, did the words "Marvel Cinematic Universe", "vibranium", and "Wakanda" come to mind? This may seem unfair, since Wakanda is an entirely imaginary African nation, while Nigeria is real. But the Nigeria of Onyeka and the AOS is NOT real.

To be clear, there is no objection to alt-history per se. It's a fascinating speculative fiction genre. It is only that the specifics of the alt-history plot of Onyeka and the AOS tend to undermine other purposes of the author.

Onyeka and the AOS ends on a cliff-hanger. It seems likely, therefore, that another book is coming. I am uncertain if I will read it. On the plus side, this is the debut novel of a new writer, so it is to be expected that some of the stumbles will be avoided in future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is a really fun middle grade book! The overarching themes deal with friendship, getting to know who you are/your value, and trusting yourself all while representing the Nigerian culture (grammar, slang, and lifestyle). Onyeka finds herself dealing with magic (Ike) born of a biochemical disaster and returns to Nigeria with her mom to attend the Academy of the Sun (AOS) to uncover how best to use her newfound power. While there she is tested and forms friendships that will support and protect her as she discovers who her family is and the value of the Solari (magic people). This book ends on a big cliffhanger - so I’ll look forward to reading more about Onyeka and her friends! The only reason I’m not giving this book a 5/5 is because I found that there were a lot of acronyms and Nigerian slang used that complicated the flow of the story - especially because certain terms would be used and not explained until a chapter or two later. Other than that, this book was a lot of fun to read and one I will definitely be recommending to youngsters, teens, and adults alike!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!