The Girl with the Louding Voice: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

This book was so incredibly heavy and triggering. I found myself getting angry, then shocked that this was set in modern-day Nigeria. You just wouldn’t believe the trauma Adunni experiences, one after another. Yet she maintains gratitude and hope throughout. It is a good read, especially with the audio, but only pick this up if your mind is prepared, and be sure to have a palate cleanser to follow.

thenextgoodbook.com
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
366 pages

What’s it about?
Adunni is just fourteen years-old and living in a small town in Nigeria. All she has ever wanted was to go to school and become a teacher. Her dreams of school end when her mother suddenly dies. Her father decides to marry her off as the third wife to an old man in exchange for food and rent money. The old man has hopes of Adunni bearing him a son. When a sudden tragedy strikes, Adunni runs away to the big city of Lagos. She feels lucky to get work as a domestic servant until she realizes she is not getting paid, and as always her voice is being silenced by those in power.

What did it make me think about?
I loved that this story showed not only the cruelty , but also the kindness in Nigerian culture.

Should I read it?
This was an interesting story about Nigeria. It has a cast of bigger than life characters. Some you will hate and some you will love. Adunni is a great narrator- don't miss meeting her!

Quote-
"She cough a little, shift herself on the floor mat, keep talking. 'In this village, if you go to school, no one will be forcing you to marry any man. But if you didn't go to school, they will marry you to any man once you are reaching fifteen years old. Your schooling is your voice, child. It will be speaking for you even if you didn't open your mouth to talk. It will be speaking till the day God is calling you to come.'
That day, I tell myself that even if I am not getting anything in this life, I will go to school. I will finish my primary and secondary and university schooling and become a teacher because I don't just want to be having any kind of voice...
​ I want a louding voice."

If you liked this try-
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
Hum If You Don't Know The Words by Bianca Marais
​If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo​

Very good book about allowed sex trafficking in certain areas of the world, having dreams and not letting them go, benefactors in unforeseen places, and society.

I tried reading this book two times before I was actually able to read it. It might have been because I had just finished a book about a young girl who is married off to someone she doesn't know/want/love and I didn't want to read a similar story. But this one was actually better than I thought. Adunni, is a young Nigerian girl who wants an education. But after her mother dies, her father sells her off to an old taxi driver in exchange for rent money. As the 3rd wife, her husband, Morufu, is anxiously awaiting for the birth of a son. His first wife, Labake, has only given him a daughter. His second wife, Khadija, has given him 3 daughters and is pregnant again. Labake is mean and nasty to Adunni. Khadija is much nicer and takes Adunni under her wing. But when an unspeakable tragedy strikes, she runs away and is secretly sold as a domestic servant to a wealthy household in Lagos. Here Adunni is mistreated as well. Despite this, she is constantly trying to better herself and get an education. Unspeakable things happen to Adunni but she is determined to find her voice. One way she does this is by a chance meeting with Ms. Tia. Ms. Tia is not like the other rich, powerful women who gather with Big Madam.

Told in Adunni's broken English (this took a while to get used to-I kept correcting her speech in my head), this is the story of a fearless girl who keeps dreaming and refuses to be silenced. She is feisty and powerful. Although there were many sad things happen, it is still a hopeful story. I loved Aduuni and Ms. Tia.

As we discussed in our book club, marrying young brides happens not only in other countries, but right here in America! It was an interesting read and I felt the strength and preserverence Adunni had along with calling on her ancestors saved her life.