A review by marielaiko99
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

4.0

NoViolet Bulawayo does a great job of portraying Darling's character as it changes. At the beginning, she is a child who plays games and innocently goes about her life trying to forget her traumatic memories. When she moves to America, she starts trying to assimilate herself, meticulously perfecting her American accent. She neglects her old friends. Her innocence is ripped from her by her new friends. At the end, she is stuck between two identities: the child who is used to suffering and laughs at those who pamper themselves and a teenager who skips school for the mall and has lost all naïveté through the internet. This novel is a powerful reminder of the suffering of others and that perspective can change everything.