My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite - Review

I bought this book a few weeks ago too after hearing loads of good things about it. I often buy books on recommendations from others, and expecially if they're only a few pounds it's cheap enough for me to take a risk on something. I didn't really know what this was about as I went into it, but I don't mind that often when I start a book, do you? 

Okay so this book is set in Nigeria and is from the point of view of Korede, who works as a nurse at a hospital in Lagos. She lives with her mum, her sister Ayoola, and their house girl, who remains unnamed in the book, in a big house built with the dodgy riches of Korede's dad, who is now dead. 

Ayoola is a serial killer. She has killed three men, the latest of whom, Femi, is killed right at the beginning of the book. Ayoola calls Korede to come and help her again, and she does - she cleans up meticulously, and helps Ayoola to fling Femi's body off a nearby bridge. Ayoola says that each of the men attacked her and that she was acting in self-defence, but Korede isn't convinced. She knows her sister well, and knows that because she is very beautiful she often gets her own way. 

Korede has a crush on a doctor at the hospital, Tade. And honestly, at the beginning of the book he seems quite interested in her, too. There's a patient, Muhtar, who is in a coma, and Korede confides in him, telling him everything her sister has done, knowing that he, of course, can't do anything about it.

The book is told in little vignettes of action, and sometimes flipping back to the past, which shows the reader what happened to Korede's dad and the years of abuse he subjected his wife and daughters to. Ayoola and Tade meet and Korede is jealous and warns him off... But is she too late? 

The booked is billed as a thriller and I think it fits well among others there. I liked Korede and really wanted her to be okay. I loved the setting of their fancy house and yet how oppressive it was. I'm giving this four out of five. 

Small Country by Gael Faye - Review

I bought this book from Our Liberty Box which was a black owned business that sold things from Africa and the African diaspora. It doesn't appear to be working now, but I saw an advert for something last year and bought some Christmas gifts from there. I also bought myself this book and another.

This book is about the Rwandan genocide, the civil war between the Hutus and the Tutsis in the 1990s. So if that's something that will distress you, don't read this book. However, I didn't find it too graphic. There is some violence, of course, and some mental illness which may also be distressing. I think that for an older teen it would be a perfectly appropriate book, however, especially for a teen interested in this kind of history.

The story centres on Gaby, a young boy living in Burundi. He is mixed race - his dad is French, and white, and his mum is Rwandan. She has been living in exile for many years in Burundi as she's a Tutsi and the situation in Rwanda has been tense for years. She sometimes gets to visit her aunt in Rwanda, who has four children, with whom Gaby and his sister Ana are close.

Gaby has four friends who live on his street, and avoids local bully Francis. As tensions rise, Gaby's maman leaves the family, and the men who work in his house are under threat.

I liked this a lot, I thought the point of view of a young boy was a really good way of showing the genocide. This book was translated from French but I don't think it showed. Gael Faye is a musician and this is his first novel, but I would definitely read something else by him in the future.

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta - Review

Where did I get it? I'd heard some buzz about it on book Twitter so when I saw it on Kindle for £1.89 I bought it. 

What's it about? The book spans quite a few years in the life of Ijeoma, starting with the Biafran War when she is a small child, and the death of her dad in a bombing raid. Ijeoma's grief stricken mother sends her to live with a grammar school teacher and his wife, who treat her pretty badly and make her live in a hovel outside. Ijeoma is Igbo, and Christian, but she meets a girl of a similar age, Amina, whose family are all dead, who is Hausa, and Muslim. They share the hovel, and start a sexual relationship. When it's discovered, Ijeoma is sent home in disgrace and her mother starts to discipline her with the Bible, telling her that her love for Amina is an abomination. Ijeoma doesn't agree, and we see her come to terms with herself and her faith as she grows older. 

I liked the scope of the novel, and I feel like quite a few books by Nigerian authors are a bit the same - they're not contained to small time periods. I really liked Ijeoma, she's utterly likeable. 

What age range is it for? While this isn't a Young Adult novel, it is of course about a young girl, so I think that for a discerning older teen, it would be really interesting and enjoyable. I mention some of the more adult stuff below, so take care. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, but take care of yourself for anti-LGBTQ talk as described above. It's utterly believable and in keeping with the character of Ijeoma's mother and their religious beliefs, but it can be triggering and painful to read. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Of course! I liked how the war between the Igbo and the Hausa was explained, too. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, and it's somewhat explicit in terms of body parts, but done in a really beautiful way. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Yes, since the novel opens with a war 

Are there swear words? No

What criticisms do I have? None really. I liked the book and found it pretty easy to read. 

Would I recommend the book? Absolutely. It's nice to read about LGBTQ+ people in a culture that isn't Western

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? It was one of the first books on my Kindle and I'll be honest, the cover grabbed me, hah

What other books is it like? It reminded me a lot of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, given the setting of Nigeria and the backdrop of the Biafran War. 

How many stars? Four out of five. Really good read. 

What Was Never Said by Emma Craigie - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it on Kindle, it was around £4.

What's it about? It's a novel about Female Genital Mutilation, which is what attracted me to buying the book in the first place. Zahra is Somali and at the beginning of the novel she is a little girl in Somalia, playing with her sister Rahma and their friend Yas. Then the cutter comes, and cuts both Rahma and Yas. Rahma dies from the procedure. The narrative then moves to Bristol, where Zahra's family is living, with her new little sister Samsam. One Friday evening, the cutter arrives, with her suitcase and in her black clothes. Zahra can't bear the idea of either herself or Sam being cut, so she runs away, taking Sam with her. 

What age range is it for? 14+ as it's a very sensitive subject. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, most everyone is Somali in the novel, and Muslim (which most Somalis are)

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? I'm not sure if being cut is a disability, but it's clear that Zahra is traumatised from what happened to her sister, and that Yas still lives with the after effects of being cut, too. 

Is there any sex stuff? No

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Yes. There's also stuff about the war in Somalia which caused the family to flee. Trigger warning for so much in this novel. It is very very sensitively done, though. 

Are there swear words? Not many 

Would I recommend the book? Yes. It's very short but I really liked Zahra and Sam and Yas. I loved how the novel ended - I felt it was the ending that it deserved. 

How many stars? Eight out of ten. 

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Where did I get it? I bought it ages ago as my friend Laura kept recommending Adichie to me. I picked it up as part of Diverse December. 

What's it about? This is an adult novel, but I think some discerning older teenagers would be okay reading it and would enjoy it. It takes place in Nigeria before and during the Nigerian War, which was something I knew nothing about. It has four points of view - Ugwu, who is sent from his village to work as a houseboy for Odenigbo. Odenigbo's girlfriend Olanna moves in with them, whose twin sister Kainene works for their dad. Kainene's English boyfriend Richard is often at Odenigbo's in the evenings, when intellectuals gather to discuss politics and so on. Ugwu learns to read and is very close to his Master and Olanna. Trouble is brewing between the Hausa people and the Igbo people, and eventually all of Odenigbo's household has to flee to escape the conflict. A new republic, Biafra, is created, a name which was familiar to me as having had a famine - caused, in fact, by this war. The narrative jumps between the early 60s, before the conflict, to the late 60s, during the conflict, and then back again, showing us the birth of Baby, Olanna and Odenigbo's daughter. When we go back finally to the late 60s, the war is coming to an end and Biafra falls.

This is an epic novel in scope, themes, characters, and language. It's brilliant.

What age range is it for? Like I said, a discerning 16 year old could enjoy this, but do be careful  

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters non-white? Yes, as it's set in Nigeria. Richard, the main white character, has a lot of reflections on being a white minority in Africa, it's interesting. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes, I mean, there's a war

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, it is a little explicit. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Yes, there's a war and a famine, and a couple of explicitly gruesome deaths, which the main characters talk about and reliver. 

Are there swear words? Yes, a few

Would I recommend the book? Yes, absolutely. 

How many stars? 9 out of 10. It took me ages to read but I did really like it.