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cilie's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Interesting story about a part of Nigeria's history I didn't know anything about. However, the structure with ultra short chapters were not for me.
bookish_ajr's review against another edition
4.0
Heart-wrenching. Raw. A story the world needs to know.
r_happe's review against another edition
4.0
This book tells a harrowing story that is unfortunately based off real events and the accounts of young Nigerian women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. I knew that this wasn’t going to be a happy story going into it but I wasn’t anticipating how affected I would be by it. The audiobook is short (under 6 hours) and I still had to take a break in the middle of it because it was just so sad.
This book made me so angry, for our MC but also with myself and the world. I’m going to be honest, before reading this I knew next to nothing about Boko Haram. I’d heard the name before and I’m certainly no expert now, but I’m so glad that I listened to this book and learned some things. Our news might not share global occurrences as often as it should but that shouldn’t stop me from being more educated, and this book reminded me of that.
The only reason I give this book 4 stars is because I didn’t really click with the storytelling. I really liked the shorter chapters but they broke the story up a lot and it was really hard for me to follow the passage of time. I understand that our MC is meant to represent any of the schoolchildren taken by Boko Haram and she doesn’t understand everything happening to her, but from a reader’s perspective it made me feel disconnected from the MC’s own particular story. I never really felt close with her specifically or understood who she was as a person. She always felt more like an idea, and this works for the educational purposes of the book and made me feel for all these girls but didn’t really tell her story like I thought it would.
Despite not connecting with the way the story was told I still really liked this book. It is a very difficult book to read about kidnapping, murder, terrorism, rape, and trauma but I think it’s one more people should read. I feel more educated because of it and appreciated the lengthy afterword. Please understand before reading this that it doesn’t have many bright moments. It isn’t something to read if you’re looking for a light and uplifting book but it’s still a very important story to pay attention to.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/10/30/buried-beneath-the-baobab-tree/
This book made me so angry, for our MC but also with myself and the world. I’m going to be honest, before reading this I knew next to nothing about Boko Haram. I’d heard the name before and I’m certainly no expert now, but I’m so glad that I listened to this book and learned some things. Our news might not share global occurrences as often as it should but that shouldn’t stop me from being more educated, and this book reminded me of that.
The only reason I give this book 4 stars is because I didn’t really click with the storytelling. I really liked the shorter chapters but they broke the story up a lot and it was really hard for me to follow the passage of time. I understand that our MC is meant to represent any of the schoolchildren taken by Boko Haram and she doesn’t understand everything happening to her, but from a reader’s perspective it made me feel disconnected from the MC’s own particular story. I never really felt close with her specifically or understood who she was as a person. She always felt more like an idea, and this works for the educational purposes of the book and made me feel for all these girls but didn’t really tell her story like I thought it would.
Despite not connecting with the way the story was told I still really liked this book. It is a very difficult book to read about kidnapping, murder, terrorism, rape, and trauma but I think it’s one more people should read. I feel more educated because of it and appreciated the lengthy afterword. Please understand before reading this that it doesn’t have many bright moments. It isn’t something to read if you’re looking for a light and uplifting book but it’s still a very important story to pay attention to.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/10/30/buried-beneath-the-baobab-tree/
elohoregbordi's review against another edition
5.0
I had no second thoughts buying this boo because I know what the author is capable of.
I really enjoyed reading this- if enjoyment even is the word for this gut-wrenching story. It teaches me about my own country, about a region that seems so far away but yet so close.
Thank you, Adaobi. ❤
I really enjoyed reading this- if enjoyment even is the word for this gut-wrenching story. It teaches me about my own country, about a region that seems so far away but yet so close.
Thank you, Adaobi. ❤
penguinjv's review against another edition
4.0
Fictional story of a woman/women taken by Boko Haram Muslim terrorist group in Nigeria loosely based on the real abduction of over 200 female students.
Spoiler
Rape, violence, brainwashing, murderzachlittrell's review against another edition
4.0
The story of a (fictional) Hausa girl getting kidnapped by Boko Haram was well-told, but the afterword really hit the message home. Hearing about the real girls kidnapped, brutalized, and still lost was harrowing after getting an idea from the first part what life is like in the Sambisa Forest with murderers -- as a slave, a wife, or dead. It's a powerful little book.