diamondhope's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't realize I had read this book before until I was a quarter of a way in but nevertheless, I read it still and loved it!
liralen's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot remember any clear warning signs. I did not stub my left big toe that week. Neither did I hear the owl hoot in the night among the trees. (64)
Morayo grows up in Ibadan with her parents and younger sister, Eniayo. Her family is not wealthy, but they are comfortable, and the extended family is a large web, ready to catch one another as necessary.
Enter Bros T. Bros T -- Tayo -- is Morayo's cousin, the spoiled older boy Morayo and her sister adore. When he comes to stay with them, though, Morayo's life is turned upside-down.
The pace is slow but steady at first, giving us a taste of Morayo's life and the makeup of her life and family, then gradually picking up. One of the best things about the book, though, is how fully realised the characters are. Morayo struggles, and struggles hard, for much of the novel. She's the undisputed heroine, but she is forced to deal with things that she should not have to, as a child or as an adult. (Eniayo, meanwhile, reminds me of no character so much as Henrietta of Michelle Cooper's Montmaray series.)
But Morayo isn't alone, although she sometimes thinks she is. There's her aunt Morenike, who understands better than most; there are her parents, who stand behind her even when they don't know what to do; there are various decent young men throughout the years the book covers. There's good and bad in here: her parents reactions in many ways ring so true -- her father's suspicion that he cannot quite name, and then, later, his anger; her mother's inability to speak to Morayo about what happened. Morayo gets used to carrying secrets.
Morenike could use a review all her own, but she is the type of aunt everyone should have -- loving, and thoughtful, and also not afraid to tell it like it is. I also loved her use of onions as a comparison: "You know how you cry when cutting onions? ... It's because the vapours from the onions make you cry, even though you're not sad. Those feelings in your body were just like that: mere physical reaction. It does not mean that you wanted him to do what he did. (99)
Morayo heals, slowly. It takes time, and life continues on even as she works on that healing. But she gets there. "I promise that for you, there will be fewer secrets. I promise to talk about whatever causes you pain. To talk about shame. I promise to listen even when I do not understand. I promise because you are worth it." (326)
At times I do think the novel could have been a bit more focused, giving us, for example, more time to explore Morayo's adult relationship with her parents. On the other hand, I do think that those 'distractions' (such as the political bits) served as reminders, of how much is going on, how alive the world around Morayo is.
Looking forward to Kilanko's next book.
Morayo grows up in Ibadan with her parents and younger sister, Eniayo. Her family is not wealthy, but they are comfortable, and the extended family is a large web, ready to catch one another as necessary.
Enter Bros T. Bros T -- Tayo -- is Morayo's cousin, the spoiled older boy Morayo and her sister adore. When he comes to stay with them, though, Morayo's life is turned upside-down.
The pace is slow but steady at first, giving us a taste of Morayo's life and the makeup of her life and family, then gradually picking up. One of the best things about the book, though, is how fully realised the characters are. Morayo struggles, and struggles hard, for much of the novel. She's the undisputed heroine, but she is forced to deal with things that she should not have to, as a child or as an adult. (Eniayo, meanwhile, reminds me of no character so much as Henrietta of Michelle Cooper's Montmaray series.)
But Morayo isn't alone, although she sometimes thinks she is. There's her aunt Morenike, who understands better than most; there are her parents, who stand behind her even when they don't know what to do; there are various decent young men throughout the years the book covers. There's good and bad in here: her parents reactions in many ways ring so true -- her father's suspicion that he cannot quite name, and then, later, his anger; her mother's inability to speak to Morayo about what happened. Morayo gets used to carrying secrets.
Morenike could use a review all her own, but she is the type of aunt everyone should have -- loving, and thoughtful, and also not afraid to tell it like it is. I also loved her use of onions as a comparison: "You know how you cry when cutting onions? ... It's because the vapours from the onions make you cry, even though you're not sad. Those feelings in your body were just like that: mere physical reaction. It does not mean that you wanted him to do what he did. (99)
Morayo heals, slowly. It takes time, and life continues on even as she works on that healing. But she gets there. "I promise that for you, there will be fewer secrets. I promise to talk about whatever causes you pain. To talk about shame. I promise to listen even when I do not understand. I promise because you are worth it." (326)
At times I do think the novel could have been a bit more focused, giving us, for example, more time to explore Morayo's adult relationship with her parents. On the other hand, I do think that those 'distractions' (such as the political bits) served as reminders, of how much is going on, how alive the world around Morayo is.
Looking forward to Kilanko's next book.
funtoisweird's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aekua's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my goodness! What a breathtaking story. I loved it. So many parts made me sad but such is life: some parts are sad, many happy. It is a story of women, daughters, of life happening and how this forces the women to live with the situations that come their way.
kaneebli's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Incest
cosco123's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ellen368's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
han_reads_13579's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. I quite liked the first half of this book. The writing flowed well and I cared about Morayo and Morenike. Many important topics were initially raised well including rape, stigma, shame, ignorance around albinism. I wanted these topics and the relationships between the characters to be better developed in the second half but I was disappointed. Instead the plot was taken over by various romances with undeveloped secondary characters. For me, the ending left much to be desired
joannemiro1948's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mmz's review against another edition
3.0
Although both plot and characters are written with very little embellishment, Kilanko is a very effective storyteller. However, there are some puzzling gaps in her narrative. She makes sure we know that it is a big deal that Morayo, the main character, must go far from home, to a different state on the other side of the Niger River, for the training for her National Youth Service Corps year. The distance heightens the element of surprise when she meets Kachi, her teenage beau, at the training site. After only a few pages, though, Morayo informs Kachi that she has been transformed to serve her year much closer to home. As a plot device to remind her readers about Morayo's relationship with Kachi, this is all well and good, but as part of an actual narrative it leaves something to be desired. For the most part, omission of such details doesn't detract from the overall sense of the story, but I found each omission distracting as I had to flip back through the pages to see if I actually had missed something. Finding that I hadn't, each time I could only wonder why Kilanko chose not to add the very few lines that would have provided the missing details.