One Way Witch continues the story of Najeeba, Onyesonwu's mother, as she follow her daughter down the road toward becoming a sorcerers. Okorafor provides a poignant and reflective novella as our beloved navigates self-discovery, love, grief and forgiveness.

With her daughter, Onyesonwu, gone from the world; Najeeba must find a new path and focus for herself. As a child she turned into a dragon-like beast of wind and fire, her father wished for a sorcerer child to Ani and Najeeba was born with power. So in her middle age she decides to become an apprentice to the town sorcerer and embark on a path she hopes will lead her back to her childhood home to destroy a creature that steals children away. The world has changed greatly with what her daughter has done but still she remembers as do most sorcerers and to some degree sensitives. Her journey will bring her to confront old pains and trauma, be forced to deal with old enemies, lose her closest friends and gain a new lover. She will learn the mystic ways of the world and reveal the cause behind why most of the planet is now a desert. This is an amazing and epic novel that requires slow reading to absorb it all and truly experience the epic heroes journey Najeeba is on. A brilliant new book from Okorafor.

Nnedi Okorafor does it again in the She Who Knows series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel in this world. It had that element that I was looking for from previous books from Nnedi Okorafor. Nnedi Okorafor does a amazing job in writing this and was engaged with what was happening and thought the characters worked well. I hope to read more in this world and from Nnedi Okorafor.

One thing to note, is you really need to read Who Fears Death before picking up the second novella in the series! One Way Witch begins during the events of that novel and mostly occurs after Onyesonwu, the daughter of Najeeba, had changed the world.

This novella is about a woman in middle-age finding herself in a new way, healing from the past, and stepping into her power and who she might become. It explores how the body carries memories of trauma, even when the mind doesn't remember the details, and how art can be a form of healing and catharsis. I don't know what it is, but across both novellas I have found Najeeba and her story to be so very compelling. I liked Who Fears Death for what it's doing, but these novellas have both hit me in a different way. Loved it. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

One Way Witch is the second book in the She Who Knows Trilogy. It follows Najeeba as a middle aged adult after the departure of her daughter, who has changed the world (book: Who Fears Death). Najeeba trains to become a powerful sorcerer in order to address the threat of the 'Cleansers.' This book is mainly about her journey in grief after her daughter leaves and her husband dies. It's also about her finding love, addressing traumas from her past and coming into her extraordinary power.

I enjoyed her first book in this series slightly more because that world with the salt mines and her as a child was just incredible from the first page to last. This book was much darker, which I do think was necessary for this particular story arc. For a short book, I'm consistently amazed at how this author packs so much story into so few pages. The vibes and the imagination is just a joy to read and it's one of the many reasons I love this author. The way she wrote the water scene near the end of the book was amazing.

I can't wait to keep promoting this author and her books at our small bookstore! While I do feel like the themes this author writes about and the way she handles the magical realism, and darker material may not appeal to the larger masses, I do think this author deserves a lot more visibility for her works.

Thank you NetGalley and DAW for the ARC of One Way Witch. I really liked this book. The world building was great and it was a good continuation of the first book in the trilogy. Najeeba’s character really grew in this book. The author also did a great job setting up suspense for the final book in the trilogy. For being a novella the author did a great job packing a lot into such a few pages. I am really looking forward to the next book1

[Thank you, DAW and NetGalley, for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.]

Nnedi Okorafor's One Way Witch meditates heavily on themes of becoming, grief and trauma, racial violence, the many kinds of love, and what it means to atone especially for those wronged. The tale's juju system and the Mystic Points far beyond it is captivating, threading weight and vitality through many painfully happy on-page years. West African cultures inspire each moment (each everything) with adoring fire. Most authors love their worlds in their way but rarely is that love so clearly radiant as in this, Najeeba's time between times. A perfect salt cube.

One Way Witch is the warm, shifting sand as you nap in the sun. It burns as it soothes, and then burns again. It's slow. Pensive. Najeeba, careful in her reckless way, reflects on her life (lives) and Okorafor invites the reader to do the same. I'm loathe to say more and mar the mirror for future readers—this is a story best heard unfiltered. Be still and be ready.

What I will say: I strongly recommend starting with Who Fears Death. Okorafor's seminal Africanfuturist novel is the foundation for Najeeba's own series even as book one, She Who Knows, breathes to life years before Onyesonwu sets out to change the world. Okorafor recommended it first, in the author's note, so you know it's real. Settle in. Let this world become home.

This is the story of Najeeba’s midlife – her daughter is gone and her second husband is dead. She wants to learn more about witching and becoming the kponyungo. She must learn new ways to open her mind and heart to confront people and events in her distant and near past and in the future.
Nnedi Okorafor always cracks me open and forces me to look at things in new ways. Her books are mind bending and satisfying and magical.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for this DRC.
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