Question: What is a tribe?

Read this exhilarating, debut middle grade fantasy from Maria Motúnráyò Adébísí and discover the answer alongside young teens, Kòkú, Moremi and Osoosi, as they venture to the heart of Jujuland on a quest to save The Night Stone.

I was swept away by the originality of this novel, in particular the unique use of language in a book aimed at the upper middle grade readership; 10-14 years of age. The author has infused this story with her Nigerian heritage, and through the first person narrative of Kòkú, she blends London teen slang with the Yoruba spoken in the fictional country of his birth, Olórí. This added such richness and rhythm to the narrative, it propelled me into the mythical African country and grounded the action firmly in its exotic setting. As for the action, there is just so much to enjoy. Kòkú begins the story on an end of summer term school trip to the British Museum, where he somehow manages to release a demon from an artefact taken from a West African country by a European explorer. This is not Kòkú’s only problem. He is a boy who is very small for his age, an effect of the sickle cell anaemia he has been born with, he appears to be the victim of bullying and clearly has low self-esteem although he deflects negative attention with some excellently witty ripostes. He is an orphan, with fragmented memories of his mother and the place of his birth, and is now living in London with Uncle Tunji, who rapidly packs him off to Olórí for the summer holidays.

He arrives into the care of Mama Oti, who looked after him in his very early childhood. In a very clever piece of narrative, Kòkú arrives on the day of the Masquerade Festival, a grand ceremony which allows Mama Oti and a moody teenager in her care, Moremi, to explain the mythology, magic, tribal system and politics of Olórí in a condensed scene. I thought that this was a wonderful way to explain the fantasy world, resulting in a book which is shorter than a lot of speculative fiction and therefore more appealing for many children who are sometimes daunted by traditional 450+ page fantasy novels. Additionally, the book includes eye-catching, animé-style graphics throughout, by Simone Douglas, which add to the enjoyment of reading. As he watches the ceremony in the blazing heat of a parched land in which the sun only sets for an hour a day, Kòkú learns that the ruling Ògún tribe want to find and destroy a mythical stone known as The Heart of Midnight, which will destroy night time forever, as well as the magical and natural creatures which rely on night. To his disbelief, as the last survivor of the Olókun tribe, Kòkú discovers that it is his destiny to venture into Jujuland to save the sacred stone.

There was no way I had more power than the Chosen Ones. They could walk into flames, summon the rain to fall, or munch a bunch of knives and turn into Iron Man. I couldn’t even join in on Sports Day at school.

p87

With Kòkú struggling to believe that he is equipped for such a mission, and accompanied by capricious martial arts expert Moremi and hyperactive shape shifter Osoosi, who spends much of her time as a hyena, the questers must face a terrifying collection of foes. As they confront their own hidden fears and secret motivations, as well as a teenage assassin with a soul-swallowing sword and his iron-clad henchmen, the three heroes begin to build bonds of trust, belonging and self-belief. Very movingly, in a novel so rich in layers of language, they discover the level of bonding which releases feelings too deep to express in words.

This is a story about embracing your heritage, finding your unique place in the world and believing in your self-worth and Kòkú, Moremi and Osoosi demonstrate this growth as the story progresses. I also read into the text a theme of overcoming fear of the unknown by listening and learning to understand that which is different to our own lived experience. Thus, Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight, does what many great children’s book do, in simultaneously educating and entertaining. I am sure that children of West African heritage will be thrilled to see heroic child protagonists who look and sound like them, and for those of us who have a different background it provides insight and fosters empathy. One final point that I must make, from my professional role as a health librarian, is that I was intrigued to see the symptoms of sickle cell anaemia described throughout the narrative. There is a desire throughout the health service to increase levels of health literacy in all sections of society, and I would highly recommend this book to primary and secondary schools libraries, as well as to public libraries as part of their health and wellbeing offer, as much as for its entertainment value.

And the answer to the question posed at the start: Everything!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maria Motúnráyò Adébísí graduated from the
University of Oxford in 2017 with a degree in English
Literature. As part of her degree she focused on
post-colonial literature from Nigeria and West
Africa, and on graduating she realised that she
wanted to write a novel that would speak to children
straddling British and African identities and make
them proud of both. Koku Akanbi and the Heart of
Midnight is her first novel.

I am very grateful to Lucy Clayton and Hachette Books for sending me access to the eARC of Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight ahead of publication on 3rd August 2023 and for inviting me to join the blog tour. Do checkout the reviews from all the fantastic bloggers on the schedule.