Akata Witch

2011 book by Nnedi Okorafor. 12-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. She looks West African, but is so sensitive to the sun that she can’t play soccer during the day, due to her albinism. She doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Her classmate Orlu and his friend Chichi reveal that they have magical abilities- and so does she. They are all "Leopard People", or people with magical abilities. Sunny is a “free agent", or someone who has magical powers without a relative having them. And she has a lot of catching up to do. Orlu and Chichi have been working with their teacher for years. Sunny needs a crash course in magical history, spells, juju, shape-shifting and dimensional travel. Her new world is a secret from her family, but it’s well worth all of the silence, exhaustion and sneaking around. Still, there is a dark side. After she’s found her footing, Sunny, Orlu, Chichi, and their American friend Sasha are asked by the magical authorities to help track down a criminal. Not just a run-of-the-mill bad guy. A real-life hardcore serial killer-with abilities far stronger than theirs. Received overwhelmingly good reviews for bucking the traditional Medieval European Fantasy norm and the Monochrome Casting of most Western fantasy books.

Tropes:

 * Coming of Age Story
 * Double Standard: Sunny is often treated worse than her brothers because she is a girl.
 * Four Philosophy Ensemble: A little bit, with Sasha as the cynic, Sunny as the optimist, Orlu as the realist, and Chichi as the apathetic.
 * Game Face: A non-evil example. All of the Leopard People have their "spirit face" that they can conjure up, which is seen as a very personal thing and seeing someone's spirit face is akin to seeing them naked. The face is usually a manifestation of their personality or powers. Sunny plays this trope straight when she gets into a fight with a schoolmate.
 * Gender Blender Name: Sunny is expecting Sasha to be a girl. Also, Orlu (male) and Chichi (female) may count because those are Igbo names that in English are kind of ambiguous.
 * Heroic Albino: Sunny.
 * Initiation Ceremony
 * Intangible Man: Sunny can do this.
 * Living a Double Life: Said verbatim multiple times.
 * The Masquerade: The Leopard world and the Lamb (human) one. A Leopard Person must never tell a Lamb what they are. Sort of averted, in that most Leopard People come from families where everyone is a Leopard Person.
 * Muggles: Called Lambs.
 * Muggle Foster Parents: Averted, her parents are actually her biological parents, but they have no abilities.
 * Mundane Utility: Juju can be used, among other things, to keep mosquitoes away.
 * Photographic Memory: Both Sasha and Chichi have this, which is why neither of them goes to school.
 * Reward From Nowhere: Chittim is the currency of Leopards, and it comes out of nowhere after one learns something new.
 * Serial Killer: One of these is killing and mutilating children throughout Nigeria
 * Shown Their Work: Since Okorafor is actually of Nigerian descent, all of the Nigerian mythology and culture depicted in the book are actual myths. The detail is shown in this review.
 * The Tease: Chichi at times.
 * Twofer Token Minority: Sunny sort of feels like this in Nigeria, since she was born in New York City but moved to Nigeria when she was 9, and she is an albino.
 * UST: With Sasha and Chichi.