I nominate "Binti" by Nnedi Okorafor.
Quote:
Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.
Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.
If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself - but first she has to make it there, alive.
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Note that "Binti" is a novella (20k words/74 pages), while "Binti: The Complete Triology" is an omnibus with three novellas (including "Binti") and a short story (113k words/417 pages total). I nominate just the first novella (although I'll probably buy and eventually read the complete thing), because I think it's nice to have some shorter options as well as full length novels.
https://nnedi.com/books/binti.html
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/binti
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bin...mplete-trilogy