Knowledge

The novel heavily encourages readers to learn more about the world beyond their hometowns by showing the fears the people have of the unknown mixed with Zahrah’s new understanding after her adventure.

At the beginning of the novel, Zahrah makes it very clear that the people of the Ooni Kingdom - including her hometown of Kirki- often avoid the unknown. Part of this is due to fear, though she does mention that many people try to avoid the feeling that they have forgotten something important. Zahrah writes, “But despite all our diverse knowledge and progress here in Ooni, my dada nature and hair will never be truly accepted, not here in the north or anywhere else in Ooni… It’s the general fear of the unknown that plagues the entire society of the Ooni Kingdom, a discomfort with things that may have been forgotten” (xi...