Play Book Tag discussion

Binti is an afro-futurist novella about a Himba girl who is a master harmonizer, and highly skilled in deep mathematics. She wins a scholarship to the top university in the galaxy (the first Himba to ever be accepted). She is expected to take over the family business to build their advanced devices. She has never left home before, much less the planet. Her family finds it unthinkable, but she leaves in the middle of the night. On the space trip on the way, she is the only Himba, among a large group of Khoush students who look down on her people. Despite this she makes many friends on the trip, until she finds herself in the midst of a long conflict between the Khoush and Meduse people.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story that included interplanetary communication, big risks, as Binti attempts to use her mediation skills to prevent another attack. I had forgotten about the physical changes that occurred to Binti in this book, and the symbolical importance of those changes. I first read this book 4 years ago. I loved it almost as much as the first time. I'm looking forward to continuing with this creative series to re-experience the delights in Okorafor's writing.

I really like Okorafor's writing ... but isn't this one too short to count for the challenges? It's under 100 pages, I think.

Book Concierge wrote: "I really like Okorafor's writing ... but isn't this one too short to count for the challenges? It's under 100 pages, I think."

I picked it for the SHORT tag for Steeplechase, but yes it's too short for BWF. If I remembered that I didn't need the letter match, I might have gone with a different sci-fi short story for Steeplechase, but I'm happy I read it. The other two books might work for next month.

Oh, thanks, Nancy. Wasn't thinking of the "short" tag.