serendipity_viv's review
5.0
The writing in this book is utterly beautiful. I found the story just flowed off the pages like a winding, lazy, river. It is one of the quiet books, where everything happens in a quiet way but produces immense results, leaving you feeling satisfied that everything has been dealt with.
Bul-Boo and Madillo were an extremely entertaining set of twins. Madillo is just hilarious with her fabricated stories which she dramatically presents to everyone who will listen. Bul-Boo is the quieter of the pair and the most thoughtful, struggling to cope with the worries that seem to sit upon her young shoulders.
The story goes back and forth between two different points of view. We see how frustrated Bulboo becomes as well as witnessing how Ifwafwa's mind works - slowly but surely. Ifwafwa is like a gentle giant, a snake whisperer of sorts; he reminded me of the character John Coffey in the film 'The Green Mile', a beautiful soul with magic in his essence.
I won't tell you what Winifred is facing in her future, as I don't want to spoil the story for you. However, on reading the story, I could understand how Amnesty International endorsed this book as it deals with basic human rights. The crimes committed against Winifred and her mother led to their human rights being taken away and still occur today in many civilisations all over the world. It is distressing to think that young girls suffer as much as they do and I do think this is one of those books that needs to be read to show the world how wrong it is and hopefully help in bringing about change as one voice grows louder and merges with others into a choir.
Bul-Boo and Madillo were an extremely entertaining set of twins. Madillo is just hilarious with her fabricated stories which she dramatically presents to everyone who will listen. Bul-Boo is the quieter of the pair and the most thoughtful, struggling to cope with the worries that seem to sit upon her young shoulders.
The story goes back and forth between two different points of view. We see how frustrated Bulboo becomes as well as witnessing how Ifwafwa's mind works - slowly but surely. Ifwafwa is like a gentle giant, a snake whisperer of sorts; he reminded me of the character John Coffey in the film 'The Green Mile', a beautiful soul with magic in his essence.
I won't tell you what Winifred is facing in her future, as I don't want to spoil the story for you. However, on reading the story, I could understand how Amnesty International endorsed this book as it deals with basic human rights. The crimes committed against Winifred and her mother led to their human rights being taken away and still occur today in many civilisations all over the world. It is distressing to think that young girls suffer as much as they do and I do think this is one of those books that needs to be read to show the world how wrong it is and hopefully help in bringing about change as one voice grows louder and merges with others into a choir.
sllyllyd's review
3.0
I think I was probably too old for this book! I quite like YA but in reading think this would be better for a younger audience. A simple story, quite well written, but not enough depth for me to really enjoy.
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