A review by serendipitysbooks
Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

 Daughters Who Walk This Path is a Nigerian novel looking at the aftermath of a sexual assault. Morayo is a teenager still at school when her cousin Tayo is sent to live with her family. He is charming but going off the rails and the hope is that Morayo’s parents will help to straighten him out. All is well for a time but on one occasion he is left alone with Morayo and rapes her. She is too afraid to tell her parents, partly because she thinks they won’t believe her but also because Tayo threatens to harm her younger sister if she tells anyway. The story traces the effects of this on Morayo into her adult years, particularly the impact on her mental and emotional health. This story clearly highlights the impacts of toxic masculinity, patriarchy and misogyny, where male transgressions are excused and ignored, but females are held to higher standards and often judged harshly for events they have no control over. I liked the inclusion of Nigerian proverbs, the support Morayo got from her aunt who sadly had similar experiences as a young woman, and the other threads woven into this story including albinism and the corruption and violence often associated with elections. A solid debut suffused with knowledge and passion. 
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