Harare Review of Books

Published on Feb 24, 2023.

African fantasy/SFF.

Zawadi has secret superpowers–the ability to connect to a network that can save lives. She doesn’t know yet that she does. A group of scientist-capitalists wants to get their hands on this network. What could go wrong?

There are corporate assassins, magical mushrooms, tuk-tuks, hakuna matatas, and there’s a villain origin story (which, I’m like, ok but you know it’s your own fault, innit??). The villain has a concerned mom-scientist, too, which is truly wholesome.

This is a very cute YA-oriented story, the first in a series. The story is fun, and although I found the dialogue annoying, your teen/YA probably won’t. This is a very strong start from Ehsani, and it will be interesting to see where the series goes.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Sterling and Stone for access.