Born into poverty in Nigeria, Adunni at fourteen has been the family
caretaker since her mother died. In Nigeria girls count for nothing.
They have no voice. Before she died, Adunni’s mother told her that
an education would give her a voice. Adunni doesn’t want just any voice.
She wants a “louding” voice.
Adunni’s search
for an education is not easy. First she’s sold to an older wealthy
man as a bride. He wants a son. She runs away to the city hoping for
a better life and is eventually sold in to slavery in Lagos. Through
all the trials she doesn’t lose her objective of getting an
education and becoming a teacher to help other girls.
This is a beautiful
story, full of trials but also full of hope. Adunni is a character
you will remember for a long time. She’s strong and brave and
determined to better her life. The book is not easy to read at the
beginning. Adunni is the narrator and her English is imperfect. As
the book continues it gets better as her English improves. However, I
was able to get the rhythm of the narrative and after the first
chapters I didn’t notice the strong dialect.
The book highlights
a number of abuses in Nigeria from child marriage to slave labor and
the enormous gap between the poor and the wealthy. Although these
issues form part of story, this book is about Adunni and her amazing
resilience. I highly recommend it.
I received this book
from Penguin Random House for this review.
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