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“This team’s action-packed Afrofuturist novel features multiple, seemingly unrelated perspectives that slowly come together in an explosive climax. …Zuberi, Lencho, and Uzochi are children of those who fled Nubia, a utopian society off the coast of West Africa, and each has their own approach to dealing with living in a society that views their Nubian heritage and refugee status as proof of their inferiority. …This novel offers a powerful critique of capitalism, classism, and racial injustice through the intertwining perspectives.”

School Library Journal

Nubia: The Awakening (NUBIA #1)

Written by Omar Epps and Clarence A. Haynes
Published by Delacorte Press

For Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho, Nubia is a mystery. Before they were born, a massive storm destroyed their ancestral homeland, forcing their families to flee across the ocean to New York City. Nubia, a utopic island nation off the coast of West Africa, was no more, and their parents’ sorrow was too deep for them to share much of their history beyond the folklore.

But New York, ravaged by climate change and class division, is far from a safe haven for refugees, and Nubians live as outcasts, struggling to survive in the constantly flooding lower half of Manhattan, while the rich thrive in the tech-driven sky city known as the Up High.

To many, being Nubian means you’re fated for a life plagued by difficulties and disrespect. But Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho are beginning to feel there might be more. Something within them is changing, giving each of them extraordinary powers. Extraordinary and terrifying powers that seem to be tied to the secrets their parents have kept from them.

And there are people Up High watching, eager to do anything they can to become even more powerful than they already are. Now Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho will be faced with the choice—do they use their inheritance to lift their people, or to leave them behind. The fate of their city, and their people, hangs in the balance.

Don’t miss the next book in the series: Nubia: The Reckoning (NUBIA #2)

Primary ISBN: 9780593428641
Publication Date: November 2022
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 14 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States (New York City NY)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation, Refugee

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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Author Q & A: Why Nubia?

Discussion Guide

Source: Random House Teachers & Librarians