Genre: Fantasy Age Range: MG Star Rating: 4 stars Series: second book
*SPOILER ALERT: contains SPOILERS for ONYEKA AND THE ACADEMY OF THE SUN*
Blurb:
Having uncovered head teacher Dr Dòyìnbó’s hidden agenda behind the Academy of the Sun, Onyeka and her friends are on the run. But they’ve got bigger problems to worry about – they desperately need to find a cure for the Solari disease that comes with using their Ike power and they need to locate Onyeka’s missing parents.
When their last safe house is uncovered, Onyeka turns to the only potential allies they have left; the Rogues, a group of rebels that have been trying to expose Dr Dòyìnbó’s lies for years. Joining forces, will the two groups be able to defeat their shared nemesis, or is there a new danger on the horizon for the Solari?
Blurb taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Review:
ONYEKA AND THE RISE OF THE REBELS is a superhero story about facing up to a liar, and also your own fears.
Following on from ONYEKA AND THE ACADEMY OF THE SUN, Onyeka and her friends are on the run. This means the book takes place in many more settings than the previous book, as the characters hop from safe house to safe house, and see some of the natural wonders of Nigeria.
The near future world is well established, as are the Solari, meaning the book can spend more time on action and trying to take down the villain than introducing it all through a newbie character. It gives this book a very different tone to the first – it’s not a “mastering unknown powers” book, but a “fight tyranny” book.
There is still a lot of interpersonal relationship friction and building between the cast though. Onyeka has her own insecurities to deal with, and the last book left the team with plenty of shocks, which all makes team work harder. I really liked the exploration of fear and its impact on teams.
While there is at least one more book coming, ONYEKA AND THE RISE OF THE REBELS does contain a series arc closure (I believe the series was first sold as a duology with additional books sold later, like DRAGON CITY is only book 3 of 5 of Dragon Realm but brings a story arc to an end.)
This means there feels like there is a lot of closure within the story. The villain they’ve been squaring up against is faced for (possibly) the last time, goals are met or failed, and the characters get an answer to the “who will win” question.
However, the ending sets up a new world for the characters to face, upheavals to society that I am sure will be key to the next book(s) – as well as a few plot hints.
Read my reviews of other books by Tọlá Okogwu:
Onyeka (this series):
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 