Between Nnedi Okorafor and Octavia Butler, I'm going to become a science fiction fan in spite of myself! This novella packs a punch, as heroine Binti travels from Africa to another planet -- the first of her people to attend Oomza Uni. A fascinating futuristic world is built in just a few pages; I especially liked the living spaceship, and math ability as a sort of superpower (mathematical sight; trances; treeing). The excellent writing deserves better copyediting; maybe that will improve in the next two books. 
 Favorite quotes: 
 "We prefer to explore the universe by traveling inward, as opposed to outward." 
 "Just because something isn't surprising doesn't mean it's easy to deal with." 
 "His anger was rightful, but all that he said was from what he didn't truly know."