Even if it’s a different model to your own. Whether you like the science fiction or not, whether you like the maths behind it, the cultural emphasis, you must at the very least acknowledge the excellent representation of family dynamics. Don’t expect more of a synopsis – This is a novella, so I’m not going to go into the ins and outs An emergency ensues: the ship is under attack from feared aliens and it is a fight for survival for all onboard. Joining the transport ship Binti seems like a fish out of water, her traditional way of life is at odds with other species and she is made to feel her difference. The reader will soon learn how crucial it is to the events that follow. It makes them distinctive and is a critical part of their way of life. Part of Binti’s culture, her identity is the use of otjize, a mud, clay that the Himba use to cover themselves from head to foot. Already so much has happened and we haven’t even touched on the hook yet. Knowing she will be unable to obtain the consent of her parents, acknowledging that if she wants to take up this opportunity it has to be in secret, she sneaks away to join the transport spaceship on it’s way to Oomza University. However Binti is curious and wants more, to see more and know more. This is unprecedented, no member of the Himba has left the planet, their way of life is dictated – an Elder or bloodline determines your place in this world. She takes her gifts for mathematics and technology and applies for a scholarship to a world renowned university. Binti is unlike her siblings, her tribe (Himba) and looks outward towards space. Told from the point of view of Binti, a sixteen year old teenager who lives in a stratified society. This short read is intense and covers so much in terms of family, acceptance, dreams, independence and communication.

Binti by nnedi okorafor