Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun

Wr. Tọlá Okogwu

Pub. Simon & Schuster Age Range - 9-12 years

Onyeka has a lot of hair - the kind that makes strangers stop in the street. She's always felt insecure about her vibrant curls, until she makes an important discovery: she can control her hair with her mind!

Her mother quickly whisks her off to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari - children with superpowers - are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends at the Academy soon have to put their powers to the test as they find themselves embroiled in a momentous battle between truth and lies...

"It just felt like I'd already read it."

Young girl with latent magic powers (of which the struggle to gain control will be a major part of her character arc) seeks missing family member. Ends up in secret school where children with magic powers learn how to master them. Forms unlikely alliance with a seemingly hostile peer. Competes in - and, against all odds, wins - a magical tournament. Someone we thought we could trust turns out to be a villain. Young girl realises her potential, gains control of her magic, and uses her undefined but seemingly boundless power to save the day. Proves herself to her doubters. Villain escapes into predicable sequel, and...oh hang on, my bad, that's the plot of Amari and the Night Brothers. I'm looking at the wrong notes, let me start over.

Don't get me wrong, Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is a fine book, in spite of what I said 10 or 11 seconds ago. There is a lot of positive stuff to say about the setting and the characters, and about what the book does for representation and empowerment. For that, it will always be present in my classroom. On that issue, this book and I have no quarrels. I loved it for that.

But.

If I had to level a criticism at Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun, it would be predictability. It just felt like I'd already read it. The things it has in common with Amari and the Night Brothers are quite striking. Of course, the "kid with magic powers goes to magic school" trope is nothing new: long before Potter, Theodore Cogswell did it in The Wall Around The World, Jane Yolen did it in Wizard's Hall, Anthony Horowitz did it in Groosham Grange, Jill Murphy did it in the Worst Witch series, and so on and so on and so on. It just feels like it's really soon after Amari. Especially when it follows so many of the same plot points beat for beat.

Additionally, this whole thing of writing a series of books. By about halfway through Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun, I knew there was going to be a sequel just from the direction of the story, and the establishing of characters and plot points that couldn't possibly be resolved before the end of the book (in its defence, I had the same feeling when I read Amari). Indeed, the book not only promotes the sequel, but even includes an excerpt at the back. Fine, great. Strong characters, a compelling story, abolsutely no issue with a second book. My issue is with writing a book with a sequel in mind. What we're left with in Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is an ending that feels hurried and perfunctory. It doesn't feel like a complete story. To my mind, sequels should happen on the basis of the reception of the first story. If it's popular, and there's tread left in the tyres, bosh out another. Fine. But to write a book with the expectation of a sequel leaves us short-changed.

For sure, kids will love the unfolding adventure and frequent bursts of action (I'll say one thing for Onyeka, at least she uses her magic: one issue that came up when I read Amari with my class was that for a book about a girl with magic powers, she doesn't use them much). It's great fun. The celebration of Onyeka's Nigerian roots is wonderful, and the glossary at the back of the book is a really nice educational touch. As the author notes, "[T]here are many stories about children with superpowers, but very few from the viewpoint of a young Black girl." Would I recommend it to my students? Yes. Will I read the second book? Yes.

And, my goodness, that cover! 😍

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teaching resources

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Yeah yeah, they're coming, sheesh.