A Review of Binti by Nnedi Okorafor #sciencefiction #HugoAward #NebulaAward

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself - but first she has to make it there, alive.

My Review: Binti leaves everything she knows for a place at Oomza University, but it's what she learned from home that will help her survive in Nnedi Okorafor's Binti.

I related to Binti right away. We all find a point where we leave what we know and go off into the big world. Binti is nervous yet hopeful that she'll find a way to fit in at Oomza University, an institution in another part of the galaxy. I loved learning more about the culture of the Himba people of Africa. The strength of this novella is Binti, her culture, and her gift of mathematics. Her treeing in math is almost a chant--almost magical. The Meduse she comes across are terrifying, yet not without the ability to reason with them.

The only thing I wished while reading the story was for it to be longer. I would have loved to see Binti with her family or new friends before the Meduse changed everything as it would have upped the stakes, but there is good news. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is just book one. We have sequels to delve into Okorafor's fantastic unique world.