"When elephants fight, the grass suffers."

This series started off really strong. I liked Binti as a character, especially because she honored and appreciated her culture and family so much, but still decided to fulfill her ultimate dream of going to Oomza Uni. I liked her regular reflections on the prejudice her people faced, and even her own prejudices.

I liked Haifa and the Bear, and really enjoyed the Sacred Fire short story. I think it added some normalness to this crazy story. I really liked Oomza Uni, and how the majority of the people there were not humanoid, but a variety of different shapes and sizes, and how the planet easily accommodated everyone. I liked the reveal about the Desert People, and how that made Binti directly confront her own prejudice.

Best lines:

“Tribal”: that’s what they called humans from ethnic groups too remote and “uncivilized” to regularly send students to attend Oomza Uni.

Back home, we called people like Haifa eanda oruzo, but they weren’t so open about it. And we didn’t say “transition”, we said “align” and once they align, it was never mentioned again. Amongst the Himba, you “were what you knew you were once you know what you were and that was that”, to quote my village’s chief Kapika.

The way people in Oomza Uni were so diverse and everyone handled that as if it were normal continued to surprise me. It was so unlike Earth, where wars were fought over and because of differences and most couldn’t relate to anyone unless they were similar.

However, I found the story too simplistic and the world-building didn't make any sense.

Apparently math has power in this series, but I didn't understand how or why. Binti's mom can "protect the family during storms," "fortify the house," and sometimes "heal you if you were sick" with "mathematical sight." Uh, what? Binti can apparently create an electrical current (I think?) by chanting equations to herself, which doesn't make any sense, and is never really elaborated upon. One line, "I let myself climb into the tree, grasping at the soothing equation of f(x) = f(-x)" straight up made me laugh (never mind the fact that that equation is not true all the time). These equations are just completely random. I still don't understand what treeing is, and how Binti is able to do it while other people can't. Is it related to being a harmonizer or not? What does it even mean to be a harmonizer? Mwinyi's harmonizer skills are completely different from Binti's harmonizer skills.

The entire situation with the Meduse was so simplistic.

Spoiler

The Meduse say they killed everyone on the ship because the Khoush stole their chief's stinger and put it in a museum. I can understand that frustration, but why would that cause them to kill an entire ship of innocent people? If they had killed the museum staff it would have made more sense. And this action is totally swept under the rug. There is no punishment for the Meduse--in fact, they are actually rewarded, with Okwu becoming a student and ambassador, and the university brokering a peace treaty with the Khoush. Binti even becomes best friends with a Meduse who probably did kill Heru, whose death gives her nightmares. She even says, "I’d never told it [Okwu] about my panic attacks or nightmares and I didn’t tell it now. Such things did not move Okwu and all it would say was that these would not kill me and I should strengthen myself and push past it all." Like wow, one of the people responsible for her panic attacks tells her to get over it. Why would you be friends with someone like that?

Near the end of the book, Binti says to the Khoush king, "You took their chief's stinger, just to show you had the power to do it, and you complain when they retaliate." Complain? The Meduses' retaliation was to KILL HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE. The Khoush taking the chief's stinger was not justified, but I don't think you could blame them for being pissed off at the Meduses for murdering people. Then, after Otwu says the Khoush are "terrible people", Binti says to it "The Meduse killed my friends in cold blood. A ship full of unarmed students and professors who’d have been happy to talk things through and help get the stinger back. How different are the Meduse?" And I'm just thinking... exactly. Was she thinking that the whole time? Did she just ignore that fact?

And then, when Binti meets the people who left the edan (I thought it was the Zinariya like in that vision she had, but apparently it wasn't), the scene was so anti-climactic that even Binti said it was LOL. All they wanted was a "recommendation" from her on Oomza Uni? That makes no sense lmao. Why didn't they just check it out? Who are they? Why did this edan save her from the Meduse and why did it allow her to talk to them? Nothing makes sense. So many unanswered questions.

And then at the end, the doctor asks Binti "what if Okwu gave birth to it [your future child]?" Uh, WHAT? Why was that mentioned? Nothing in the end made sense lmao.

And then the entire ending felt like a Disney movie. Binti's family, of course, has been alive this whole time. Binti is somehow resurrected by the fish ship, an ability only baby ships have (how convenient that this ship was born only a few days ago). Then her and Mwinyi make out. Okay then.

I feel like this series could have been really good. I enjoyed reading it, even though it didn't make much sense. If Okorafor had spent more time explaining her world, I would have enjoyed it more. If anyone's actions had any actual consequences

Spoiler

(the Meduse killing everyone, the Khoush burning down the Root and basically killing Binti and her family)

, then this book would have felt more real, with lessons to actually be learned from it. Instead, it felt like a true YA, with a "chosen one" who is traumatized, but ultimately saves the day and continues on.

Gave up on this book at 175 pages, which is over a third of the way into the book. I had way too many issues with the writing style and the smug, pretentious tone. I tend to dislike books that are about stories and books and reading because they always feel overindulgent and obnoxious. This book is the worst case I’ve come across. It takes itself and its concept way too seriously.

I haven’t been this irritated by a book in a long time. Every issue I had with The Night Circus is amplified up to 1000. Also, for a book that should feel timeless there were an awful amount of grating Harry Potter and Starbucks references. This book is just an endless list of vibes and feelings, reading it literally feels like - blah blah honey bees bone ash dust bourbon vanilla keys gold moon snow books coffee blah blah.

If anyone wants something with a similar concept (a character exploring a strange, whimsical, unknown world) just skip this and read Piranesi.