Recommended: yes!
For a tale of morality and control in the face of darkness and hatred, for a superhero/antihero combo that's exciting and thought provoking

Thoughts:
A perfect example of having greatness thrust upon him, Nnamdi fights between what is vengeance and what is justice with his newfound powers. I love having a main character who is flawed and conflicted, but whom you like nonetheless because you can see him doing his best to make sense of the world he lives in. Coming-of-age is a lot more complicated when you're granted otherworldly powers and a conscience for justice.

The darkness is this story comes from a point of human and political issues -- crimes we commit upon each other. Murder, theft, abuse, and all kinds of other atrocities based in selfishness are endemic in Kaleria for Nnamdi. So while there is violence of people being killed or beaten up or kidnapped, it's never turned into a gory style. The horror is more mental for imagining the reality of the situations happening.

I loved the folklore aspects of ghosts and the totem that conveys the powers: the Ikenga. The cultural connections to the Igbo were made clear in a subtle way that added to rather than distracted from the story. It was the same with their daily life. The descriptions of food were mouthwatering and made me start googling if I could get any around here. And once I got the explanation of what a go-slow was, I felt silly for not having guessed it immediately. After all, Boston is the worst place in the US for them!

Thanks to Bookishfirst and Penguin for a free copy in exchange for an honest review! ( )

Charming and enchanting. Brings a real sense of place and the struggle of a boy confronted with great part. ( )

An interesting story about a boy dealing with the responsibility of carrying on trying to make the world a better place after his father's murder. ( )

Nnedi Okorafor writes characters that come to life, and I love entering the worlds she creates and getting to know everyone. This was a mystery with some twists and turns and a lot of feeling behind it. Her Akata Witch series is still my favorite work, but I would definitely recommend Ikenga to middle grade mystery fans. ( )

An extended metaphor of puberty and grief. Aimed middle grade readers and set in Nigeria, Nnamdi becomes a kind of superhero as he tries to make peace with his father's murder, and starts to see some grey in what had been a black-and-white world. I can definitely see this appealing to its target group, and it also worked pretty well for me as an adult. ( )