The following version of this novel was used in the creation of this study guide. Okorafor, Nnedi. Akata Witch. SPEAK. 2011. Paperback.

12-year-old, American born Sunny Nwazue feels out of place in her ancestral home of Nigeria. As an Albino, she is often mocked for her pale skin and yellow hair and struggles to find a place where she belongs. One day, she meets Orlu and Chichi who reveal to her that she is a Leopard Person, a person capable of using juju. Furthermore, Sunny is a free agent, meaning both of her parents are non-magical Lambs. They take her to meet a scholar named Anatov at the center between worlds known as Leopard Knocks and he goes through Sunny’s initiation, revealing her spirit face. Then, he introduces them to an American named Sasha who was sent over after summoning a dangerous masquerade to attack those who were bullying his sisters.

Meanwhile, the mysterious Black Hat is abducting and killing or maiming young children in a type of ritual killing. Sunny works tirelessly to understand her powers, reading from a book called “Fast Facts for Free Agents” and even performing her first juju to sneak out of the house to meet with the others. Anatov sends the group to meet Kehinde in the Night Runner Forest. They are almost killed by bush spirits, but Kehinde praises them for surviving and agrees to mentor Sasha.

Later, the group retrieves study materials and Sasha buys Udide’s Book of Shadows. Then, they meet Taiwo who accepts Orlu as her mentee and informs them that they have formed an Oha coven which bears the responsibility of the world. Furthermore, the Black Hat is a Leopard Person named Otokoto and the group needs to stop him.

A month later, Sunny is taken to Sugar Cream at the Obi Library after she breaks the rules and shows her spirit face to scare her bully. Sugar Cream scolds Sunny and says she will have to ponder whether or not she will mentor Sunny after she made such a foolish choice. Then, Anatov takes the group to Abuja to the Zuma Festival. Sunny is horrified to watch a fight to the death between two Leopard People, including one named Miknikstic who encouraged her. To try and cheer themselves up, Sasha and Sunny join a soccer team and, despite the bullying over her gender, Sunny astounds the players and the crowd with her quick moves and abilities.

Afterward, the group attends a social event where Chichi gets into a juju contest with a rival named Yao. To try and prove herself superior, she summons a masquerade, forcing Orlu to undo it. Then, Sunny learns that the Black Hat stole a special, fourth-floor book from the Obi Library. After a week of torrential rains, the group is summoned in front of the scholars and told that this is their only chance to stop the Black Hat from summoning a powerful masquerade named Ekwensu. Unfortunately, when they arrive at his gas station, the Black Hat has already killed two children and commits suicide to summon Ekwensu. Sunny finds the courage to send the creature away as Orlu revives the children. All four of them are hailed as heroes, though Sugar Cream warns that Ekwensu will return and she will mentor Sunny to prepare them.

However, when Sunny returns home, her father berates her for leaving without telling them anything and says she will not turn out any better than her crazy grandmother, Ozoemena. Once he leaves, her mother explains that Sunny’s grandmother kept many secrets, but she developed a promiscuous reputation even though Sunny’s mother believes Ozoemena was focused on something else. She tells Sunny to be brave and that she trusts her. Then, Sunny reads a letter from Ozoemena who is thrilled about the idea that Sunny may have the same powers as her and apologetic for forcing Sunny into a double life. She warns Sunny that something is coming and she will have to fight. Once the children are returned to their parents, the group transitions into the next phase of their training.