Name: Noor
Rating: 3.943181818181818 (22 reviews)
ISBN: 9780756418304

Nnedi Okorafor

When everything goes wrong on a trip to the local market, AO, a woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations, must race against time across the deserts of Northern Nigeria with a Fulani herdsman named DNA in a world where everything is streamed.

Noor

Lindsay

Sabrina D. 

I don't think either of them will ever forgive me for not dying, nor will my father ever forgive my mother. So why revere the aesthetics of traditional beauty? It's like worshipping a god who cannot see you. It is choosing to never be celebrated. I wanted to be celebrated. 

From africanfuturist luminary Okorafor comes a new science fiction novel of intense action and thoughtful rumination on biotechnology, destiny, and humanity in a near-future Nigeria. Anwuli Okwudili prefers to be called AO. To her, these initials have always stood for Artificial Organism. AO has never really felt...natural, and that's putting it lightly. Her parents spent most of the days before she was born praying for her peaceful passing because even in-utero she was wrong. But she lived. Then came the car accident years later that crippled her even further. Yet instead of viewing her strange body the way the world views it, as freakish, unnatural, even the work of the devil, AO embraces all that she is: A woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations. And then one day she goes to her local market and everything goes wrong. Once on the run, she meets a Fulani herdsman named DNA and the race against time across the deserts of Northern Nigeria begins. In a world where all things are streamed, everyone is watching the reckoning of the murderess and the terrorist and the saga of the wicked woman and mad man unfold. This fast-paced, relentless journey of tribe, destiny, body, and the wonderland of technology revels in the fact that the future sometimes isn't so predictable. Expect the unaccepted.

i was immediately pulled into this sci-fi version of nigeria as well as the life and struggles Ao lived through. 

i am immensely inspired and amazed by her strength to keep going no matter what. showing that a disability is not necessarily a doom. her acceptance of her own disability and willingness to keep moving through whatever the world threw her way made me love her from the get go. 

this was my first read from Nnedi and absolutely not my last. 

marie

i was immediately pulled into this sci-fi version of nigeria as well as the life and struggles Ao lived through. 

i am immensely inspired and amazed by her strength to keep going no matter what. showing that a disability is not necessarily a doom. her acceptance of her own disability and willingness to keep moving through whatever the world threw her way made me love her from the get go. 

this was my first read from Nnedi and absolutely not my last. 

Joy Bush

What a great afro-futurism scifi book set in Nigeria. 
The MC was born disabled and got more disabled from a car wreck at age 14, and has 3 cybernetic limbs, and some augments in her head from UltimaCorp and is not socially accepted. After some men beat her up in the market she goes on the run into the desert. 
fast paced, more books like this pls!!

Loved the world building and the whole story. I would have loved some more fleshing out of the characters, particularly DNA. Also I love the theme of what it is to be human and where those distinctions are—would like to see this take a deeper exploration of that. 

Stark Koenig

Joycelyn Ghansah

It's interesting watching A.O coming into her own. To think she became who she was through trauma and society's expectations or prejudices. I don't even know now to explain it. I love the names of the people around her, how they explored climate change, her connection to the earth, and finding peace in a world that hates, despises and fears you. There's so much I can say but words I'm at a lost for words. I will say, I will always root for A.O and her powers.

Shona Tiger

A weird and interesting story. A Little disappointing. Not a fan of the style or theme, and found the main character (AO) unlikeable. Did like her sidekick, DNA, though, and his way of life and the politics around that were interesting.

Amanda

Loved this story from start to finish. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I loved the world-building and the main character. Gorgeously told and the audio narrator was excellent. I loved the mix of futuristic tech and traditional lifestyles and the look into how one could effect the other.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read the ARC. Thank you to the author for writing such a great story.

From Africanfuturist luminary Okorafor comes a new science fiction novel of intense action and thoughtful rumination on biotechnology, destiny, and humanity in a near-future Nigeria. Anwuli Okwudili prefers to be called AO. To her, these initials have always stood for Artificial Organism. AO has never really felt...natural, and that's putting it lightly. Her parents spent most of the days before she was born praying for her peaceful passing because even in-utero she was "wrong". But she lived. Then came the car accident years later that disabled her even further. Yet instead of viewing her strange body the way the world views it, as freakish, unnatural, even the work of the devil, AO embraces all that she is: A woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations. And then one day she goes to her local market and everything goes wrong. Once on the run, she meets a Fulani herdsman named DNA and the race against time across the deserts of Northern Nigeria begins. In a world where all things are streamed, everyone is watching the "reckoning of the murderess and the terrorist" and the "saga of the wicked woman and mad man" unfold. This fast-paced, relentless journey of tribe, destiny, body, and the wonderland of technology revels in the fact that the future sometimes isn't so predictable. Expect the unaccepted.

Kerri McDonald

This was an immersive, fast-paced sci-fi that kept me on the edge of my seat! I really enjoyed getting to know AO as a character through her trials. The tech/science in this world stretches the imagination, but it was still accessible. Overall, this was an enjoyable and quick read!

Noor

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