Review: Abeni's Song by P. Djèlí Clark

Abeni's Song by P. Djèlí Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Clark has quickly become one of my favorite SFF authors.  I love how he weaves culture into his stories and uses sci-fi or fantasy (or both) to deal with real world issues.  This is his middle grade debut and he really leans in to African Lore and storytelling.  If you pay attention he is really using Abeni's magical journey to tell you about the horrible things that were done historically in Africa.  It is one of the things I love about his writing style.  He tells you about big and important topics while taking you on an amazing adventure.

As for the narration, the narrator really did a wonderful job with the storytelling aspect of the audiobook.  She gave each of the characters a unique voice throughout the book.  It took me a few chapters to really appreciate her narration, as I didn't initially appreciate the cadence and pitch she gave to some of the characters.  I loved her "narrator" voice though.  As the book went on I realized she is the ultimate storyteller, and really gave life to Abeni and her companions.  I don't think everyone will appreciate her amazing voice acting, but I think younger readers will be delighted by her voice talents.  

This follows Abeni on quite the journey.  On her 12th birthday, her village is attacked and everyone she knows and loves is taken away.  Abeni alone is saved by an old woman who she comes to know as Asha, a spirit who has protected the village for many years.  Abeni wants nothing more than to find her family and loved ones, but to do so she must learn what Asha has to teach her.  Abeni has a good bit of character development as the story unfolds as she begins as any 12 year old girl, a bit stubborn and petulant, but she quickly discovers that she has to put aside her own wants and needs if she wants to find those she loves.  She is also put in many challenging situations where she has to be brave and make tough choices.  Does she always make the right choice?  No, but she is always trying to do the right thing, and the friends she makes along the way are there to help guide her and teach her.  There are quite a few lessons to be learned, and Abeni always takes them in stride.  

The worldbuilding in this book was excellent.  Clark gives us a luscious landscape and describes the characters in such detail that you can really get a sense of what they look like but he doesn't go overboard with the descriptions.  If you are a fan of folklore any mythology I highly recommend this for middle grade readers, adults, and everyone in between.  I think it is written such that any age group can enjoy it.

This is the first book in a series, but I really appreciated that this first part of Abeni's storyline ended with closure.  We see that there is more to her journey to come, but this part of the story feels complete.  I look forward to seeing what challenges Abeni and her companions faces on the next part of their quest.

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