The thrilling sequel to the Hugo and Nebula-winning Binti by Nnedi Okorafor It’s been a year since Binti and Okwu enrolled at Oomza University. A year since Binti was declared a hero for uniting two warring planets. A year since she found friendship in the unlikeliest of places.And now she must return home to her people, with her friend Okwu by her side, to face her family and face her elders.But … face her family and face her elders.
But Okwu will be the first of his race to set foot on Earth in over a hundred years, and the first ever to come in peace.
After generations of conflict can human and Meduse ever learn to truly live in harmony?
Praise for Nnedi Okorafor
“Binti is a supreme read about a sexy, edgy Afropolitan in space It’s a wondrous combination of extra-terrestrial adventure and age-old African diplomacy. Unforgettable ” – Wanuri Kahiu, award winning Kenyan film director of Pumzi and From a Whisper
“A perfect dove-tailing of tribal and futuristic, of sentient space ships and ancient cultural traditions, Binti was a beautiful story to read.” – Little Red Reviewer
”Binti is a wonderful and memorable coming of age story which, to paraphrase Lord of the Rings, shows that one girl can change the course of the galaxy.” – Geek Syndicate
”Binti packs a punch because it is such a rich, complex tale of identity, both personal and cultural… and like all of Nnedi Okorafor’s works, this one is also highly, highly recommended.” – Kirkus Reviews
“There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics.” –Ursula Le Guin
“Okorafor’s impressive inventiveness never flags.” – Gary K. Wolfe on Lagoon
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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One of the things that bothered me about “Binti” was Binti’s quick willingness to befriend the beings that had killed all her friends. Home does a great job of addressing this and dealing with Binti’s own concerns and lingering issues regarding the initial attack. Okorafor makes it clear in “Binti” that Binti is calm, peaceful, and a great harmonizer, but in “Home” she reminds us that even the best of us have moments of weakness.
I enjoyed the exploration of Binti and Okwu’s friendship, and its necessary reminder that people (and aliens) don’t have to be alike or even agree on many things to be friends and learn from each other.
“What will you be?” she asked. “Maybe it is not up to you.”
Binti Ekeopara Zuzu Dambu Kaipka of Namib has spent a year at Oomza Uni. As Master Harmonizer, she is supposed to be able to balance situations. However, her trauma from the previous year is interfering in her studies. It’s time to go home to Earth to complete her pilgrimage, to return to herself, to return to her people. The question is, will they accept her?
She returns with Okwu, her friend, the one who saved her when she almost died the year before. Okwu is the first of its kind in generations to come to earth where it’s kind are seen as collective enemy. But it and Binti go to Binti’s home, the Root, where she will leave on her pilgrimage. The question is, will she complete it as she expects to, and what will she learn?
When I read Binti a few years ago, I simply fell in love with the writing as well as Okorafor’s story. When in searching for something else I ran into the second (and third) in the story I could hardly wait to read them. And I wasn’t disappointed even though it is obviously a …to be continued…
Highly recommended 5/5
[disclaimer: this is a library book]
More Binti! What’s not to like? I loved this one just like the first. Need more! Wait… there’s more!
Beautiful exploration of PTSD and leaving an enclosed community. I wished Okwu was in it more! Still a little confused about everything but enjoying it.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! I would definitely recommend this book! I will look for any future books in this series.
Binti,the heroine of the series, returns home from the interstellar university in hope of reconciling with her family and finding some inner peace. We learn that the adventures in the first novel were much more traumatic for her than suggested in the first book. Nothing goes as expected. Though she was more accepted by family and friends than I expected – her actions and transformation in the first story have created deep wounds. And just as the family crisis begins to crescendo, Binti undergoes another transformation. Transformation seems to be a recurring topic in this series. Binti is an interesting character. The world she lives in is unique or at least different than anything else I have read. But the ending was a cliff hanger and the book felt like the middle part of a novel – not an independent story. For me, it is more of a 3.5 stars than 4 but I will round up because of the good characterization and world-building .
Can you ever go home again?
Binti Home by Nnedi Okorafor attempts to answer that question. Binti returns home after a year away on a spaceship at Oozma University. She brings her friend, Okwu, for support. However, the homecoming does not go as expected and the family treats Binti like a pariah.
She discovers a new threat to her people called The Night Masquerade, and Binti’s return may have caused this being to appear in the village.
This is a middle volume of a trilogy and a bridge to the concluding volume, Binti The Night Masquerade. You must read the first book, Binti, to get the full context of Okorafor’s work. Okorafor weaves African Culture and Mythology into an excellent science fictional setting and tells a universal story of one who leaves the tribe to return for connection.
I’m looking forward to see how Okorafor finishes the trilogy and brings Binti’s journey to womanhood to a close.
A wonderful story
If I’m not careful, Nnedi Okorafor is going to turn me into a science fiction fan. I was concerned about taking the narrative out of space and putting it back on earth. I worried that the move would make the story seem smaller, but it didn’t. If anything, going back home gave Binti’s story more depth and importance. The Khoush want to kill Okwu, despite the truce brokered by Binti through the Oomza Uni. Binti’s family can’t come to terms with the fact that she has a destiny that must take her away from her Himba tribe. Additional reveals regarding the histories of the Meduse and the Desert People, give the story a depth and breadth normally only seen in larger novels. While nearly 3 time as long as the original, Binti: Home is still a quick read, but it packs an enormous punch.
I can’t get enough of this story and I adore the author. Always in my top 5 favorite authors.