SOMADINA

296pp., paperback, Faber, London, 2025

ISBN: 9780571383030

Also published in the USA in 2025.

Young adult fantasy inspired by indigenous Igbo culture.

Somadina and her twin brother, Jayaike, both have magical gifts, but while Jayaike’s powers enchant, Somadina’s awaken fear and hostility. When her bother vanishes, she knows she has to find him. not matter the dangers.

"This world of deities, magic, and war draws from Emezi's own Igbo culture, as is noted in their acknowledgment, infusing the story with precolonial and postwar pieces of the place they were born. This is a moving story of a family that grapples with secret pasts and obvious parental favoritism, one that doesn't require the child to forgive their parents even after they apologize but instead makes space for big feelings that aren't easily resolved." JMM

"Bestselling author Emezi weaves Igbo culture and folklore in a searching, memorable YA fantasy, filled with complex ideas of identity, community and truth. " The Guardian

Akwaeke Emezi is the author of the young adult novels Pet and Bitter; the adult novels You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji, and Dear Senthuran: A black spirit memoir (2022 ALA Stonewall Prize for Best Nonfiction Book).