Ikenga Review and Ikenga Discussion Questions written on 4/21. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: Ikenga
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
Genre: Superhero, Drama, Middle Grade
Length: 240 pages
Age suggested : 10 and up
Release Date: August 18th, 2020
Themes: Grief, Controlling Anger, Healing, Justice,
Warnings: Death of parent, moderate violence and injuries,
Quick Summary of Ikenga
Upon a family tragedy, Nnamdi is gifted an ikenga that provides him a surprising ability, he becomes a hulk-like strong man. With this new power and his new sense of justice, Nnamdi attempts to gain vengeance for his family. What he doesn’t know is that the ikenga is using his anger and he must try to learn how to control his anger while honing his superpowers.
Ikenga Review: (Contains Light Spoilers)
–Why Read Ikenga-
There are so many superhero movie stories out there, but there are considerably less in which the superhero is a young boy. This is a great book because it follows Nnamdi through so many different feelings of compassion, grief, justice, vengeance, and anger. It also does a great job at portraying the mindset of a young kid as he goes through these struggles. On just a higher level, the overall plot is very good and send you through a lot of emotions and surprises.
-Plot/Story-
Ikenga jumps right into the first page and makes you immediately care about Nnamdi, our main character, and his story. The overall story of Ikenga is Nnamdi searching for justice using his newly found superpowers. It is paced very linearly and well to keep you invested in the story and the ending throughout most of the book and the ultimate payoff feels very satisfying
The only hiccup in the story is near the end of the story when Nnamdi’s beliefs about what about to his dad are completely turned on his head. He then just starts sporadically jumping from conclusion to conclusion until one of them turns out to be correct. The sporadic nature makes a lot of sense, but it does come off as a little random when he solves the mystery.
Continue reading for more of our Ikenga Review
-Characters-
Our main character, Nnamdi, is a very sympathetic child who is quickly given two major burdens. This makes him simultaneously a relatable and sympathetic character. His journey to learning how to manage and control his anger plays a huge role in the overall plot and importance of the story. Alongside him, Nnamdi’s best friend, Chioma, plays a huge role in humanizing Nnamdi so that he doesn’t just become a mythical superhero like so many others.
Lastly, Nnamdi’s father and father’s friends make a big impact in the subplots diving into Nnamdi’s father’s history. This adds a lot to the mystery of the book, which ultimately provides the major twists and turns to the story. Along with these, there are also the sub-villains who play against Nnamdi’s powers. These help keep the plot moving forward as Nnamdi learns how to use and control his powers.
Continue reading for our Ikenga Discussion Questions
Ikenga Discussion Questions
- If you had a superpower based off of your favorite superhero, what powers would you have?
- Chioma is consistently supporting Nnamdi, even if it means leaving him alone for a bit. Who in your life has been their to support you?
- If you had a superpower that was based on emotions, what would it be and how would you control it?
- How did Nnamdi learn to control his anger/superpower?
- Nnamdi is so focused on getting revenge on the Chief of Chiefs? How did this change throughout the story?
Thanks for checking out our Ikenga Discussion Questions. Before you go, check out these other posts:
–Types of Adoptions taught by Superheroes
–Black Panther Review: Wakanda Forever!
– Shazam: a superhero movie that follows a young boy who is moving into a new foster home.
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