A Boy Avenges His Murdered Father, With The Help Of A Magical 'Ikenga'
Nnedi Okorafor found her superpower — storytelling — when she was a teenager. She draws on her own past and her connection to Nigeria in her latest novel, about a 12-year-old finding his own powers.
Writer Nnedi Okorafor was born and raised in the U.S., but she says her immigrant parents were always talking about Nigeria. "We had the American experience, but they also didn't leave home behind ..." Okorafor says. Nigeria "didn't feel like a place of the past. It felt like a place of the now and the future."
Their frequent trips back to visit family and connect with their heritage were formative for her. "There were there," Okorafor says. "Even before I was a writer ... I noticed those stories and they were always
