Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Katherine Tegen Books (2020), Edition: Reprint, 336 pages
Description
Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: Based on interviews with young women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram, this poignant novel by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani tells the timely story of one girl who was taken from her home in Nigeria and her harrowing fight for survival. Includes an afterword by award-winning journalist Viviana Mazza. A new pair of shoes, a university degree, a husband�??these are the things that a girl dreams of in a Nigerian village. And with a government scholarship right around the corner, everyone can see that these dreams aren't too far out of reach. But the girl's dreams turn to nightmares when her village is attacked by Boko Haram, a terrorist group, in the middle of the night. Kidnapped, she is taken with other girls and women into the forest where she is forced to follow her captors' radical beliefs and watch as her best friend slowly accepts everything she's been told. Still, the girl defends her existence. As impossible as escape may seem, her life�??her future�??is hers to fight… (more)
Media reviews
Overall, Nwaubani articulates in this intriguing story of terrorism and its human and material costs, the challenges of the twenty-first century. ... Buried the Beneath the Baobab Tree, indeed, pays tribute to the faceless victims whose captivity presents an endless certainty of trauma.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rgruberhighschool
RGG: Amazing story of the kidnapping of girls by the Boko Haram. The twenty-five pages at the end with the history and current status of the kidnapping is a bit dry but worthwhile reading. Short chapters, make this a page turner. Inferred rape, sexual abuse. Reading Interest: 14-YA
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
This young-adult novel tells the story of the “stolen girls” of northern Nigeria, where the militant terrorist group Boko Haram has been burning villages, kidnapping the young girls, and slaughtering the rest of the residents.
The author gives the reader a vivid picture of life in a small
But when Boko Haram attacks the village and she is kidnapped, taken deep into the jungle to the militant group’s camp, it seems her dreams are shattered.
Forced to adopt a new name, to study to become “a good Muslim woman”, she learns to keep her thoughts to herself. Worried about her family and her friends, she must rely on herself – her intelligence, her prior education, her powers of observation – to survive with the hope of rescue or escape. How difficult to choose between escape and fear for your friends and family. How terrifying to witness your friend beheaded on the spot for refusing to swear allegiance to your captor’s beliefs. How easy it feels to succumb to the promise of better food and better housing that comes with adopting the “proper” demeanor and marrying a fighter. How impossible it is to maintain hope in these circumstances.
Nwaubani’s writing is poetic and lyrical, with vivid descriptions and heart-wrenching scenarios. This is the first of her books that I have read; it will not be the last.
The afterword is written by Viviana Mazza, an Italian journalist who has worked in several countries including Syria and Nigeria. The 2014 Boko Haram raid on a private school in Chibok where 276 girls were kidnapped captured world-wide attention – for a time. Since then most of the world has forgotten, if they ever knew, the names of these women (and many others taken in less widely reported raids). Mazza wanted to report on the continuing war, to document the real stories of women/girls who have been kidnapped by and rescued from Boko Haram. Her writing is more journalistic and suffers in comparison to the raw emotion of Nwaubani’s novel. However, it serves to educate the reader about the real atrocities being committed, the real challenges faced by those who escape Boko Haram. I applaud the courage of these girls and women who have come forward to tell their stories.
The author gives the reader a vivid picture of life in a small
Show More
Nigerian village. The unnamed narrator is a young girl who excels at school, and dreams of new shoes, going to university, marrying a good husband – the kinds of things most girls dream of. She helps her mother keep the house, chatters with her best friend, and joins in village celebrations centered around the church. Christians and Muslims co-exist and work together for the good of the village and one another. But when Boko Haram attacks the village and she is kidnapped, taken deep into the jungle to the militant group’s camp, it seems her dreams are shattered.
Forced to adopt a new name, to study to become “a good Muslim woman”, she learns to keep her thoughts to herself. Worried about her family and her friends, she must rely on herself – her intelligence, her prior education, her powers of observation – to survive with the hope of rescue or escape. How difficult to choose between escape and fear for your friends and family. How terrifying to witness your friend beheaded on the spot for refusing to swear allegiance to your captor’s beliefs. How easy it feels to succumb to the promise of better food and better housing that comes with adopting the “proper” demeanor and marrying a fighter. How impossible it is to maintain hope in these circumstances.
Nwaubani’s writing is poetic and lyrical, with vivid descriptions and heart-wrenching scenarios. This is the first of her books that I have read; it will not be the last.
The afterword is written by Viviana Mazza, an Italian journalist who has worked in several countries including Syria and Nigeria. The 2014 Boko Haram raid on a private school in Chibok where 276 girls were kidnapped captured world-wide attention – for a time. Since then most of the world has forgotten, if they ever knew, the names of these women (and many others taken in less widely reported raids). Mazza wanted to report on the continuing war, to document the real stories of women/girls who have been kidnapped by and rescued from Boko Haram. Her writing is more journalistic and suffers in comparison to the raw emotion of Nwaubani’s novel. However, it serves to educate the reader about the real atrocities being committed, the real challenges faced by those who escape Boko Haram. I applaud the courage of these girls and women who have come forward to tell their stories.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
I am grateful for the authors who are willing to tackle horrifying subjects and yet do it with a deft hand. This book is intensely readable, appropriate for a teen audience, thoughtful about what Islam means to many people, even while exploring Boko Haram and the devastation they are causing. How
Show More
do you do that with mass murder? With abduction and forced marriage? With the sudden blight on everyday life that may seem restricted in the West, but is supportive and loving? I don't know how she pulls all that off, but she does. Extraordinary. Show Less
Awards
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — High School — 2021)
Green Mountain Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2019)
Tayshas High School Reading List (Top Ten — 2020)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2018)
Just One More Page Recommendation List (Young Adult — 2020)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
336 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
0062696734 / 9780062696731