The novel "Who Fears Death" is written by Nnedi Okorafor, and published in 2010. The story has three parts, and It describes the protagonist Onyesonwu's life, from her birth to death. It tells how she overcome obstacles in her life and finds her own identity between dust and wind.
The first part of the story begins with the death of Onyesonwu's father when she is only sixteen. After it, she moves to Jwahir with her mother. She is the daughter of a Nuru man who raped her mother. The man belongs to a different dominant white-skinned tribe. As she is an outcome of rape, she is called 'Ewu.' 'Ewu' is a sign that marks the result of a Nuru man raping an Okeke woman because of it, she is treated with disrespect by all the communities.
The second phase of the story starts when Onyesonwu grows young. She is strong, firm, and bold. Her mother marries another man Fadil who loves both of them as a family but eventually dies. Onyesonwu doesn't like to be a symbol of shame for her parents. Her inner strength leads her to undergo the rite, makes friends in school, and gets trained by her friend Mwita with whom she falls in love later. She becomes sharp, logical, and politically aware. She wants to help everyone around who had been through the same fate as her. She decides to travel westward with her friends across the desert to the heart of the violence.
The last phase of the story begins as tensions arise in her group. Her friends face the stress of living in the desert. The distress overcomes them. Next, they meet a Vah tribe, which helps them. The woman from the Vah tribe creates magic on Onyesonwu and makes her stronger. Onyesonwu meets the people of the Nuru tribe to whom she wanted to target, but the story ends with her capture. The last two chapters tell how Onyesonwu, instead of escaping from the attempted execution, transforms into a Kponyungo and flies to the east. The novel is a science fiction fantasy with supernatural powers given to the character. It touches readers deeply. The journey of Onyesonwu is fighting for her identity.
