Review: The Night Masquerade
The Night Masquerade by Nnedi OkoraforMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The mark of a genius writer is one who can wrap up a trilogy in a way that stays true to the spirit of the first book. Nnedi Okorafor has fulfilled this difficult task with "The Night Masquerade".
I will admit that I had my doubts near the end. Binti’s journey in the last third of this book is one that made me frustrated. Frustrated at what was happening and the thought that Okorafor had jumped the shark. But somehow she recovered and landed an excellent and fitting ending for our hero.
When I read “Binti” a few years ago, I saw it as a premiere novel for young adults ready to leave the safety of their parents’ homes to start their own journeys. The third book in her journey encapsulates the brutality that goes into forging one’s own path and the blow back that some have to manage when it comes to familial disappointments. At the same time it exhibits the loving and stumbling manner in which we craft chosen families. Pop culture and literature are full of bands of misfits that evolve into family - Buffy, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Lauren Oya Olamina's Earthseed - Binti’s crew joins these ranks.
As with the other books in this series, there is graphic violence, death, and heartbreak. I firmly believe these books are young adult, definitely not children’s books. The intelligence of the books lends itself well to readers who are young adults at heart.
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