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eskimo97's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Vomit, Rape, Infertility, Grief, Cursing, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
bloodmaarked's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
read this in anticipation of And So I Roar which i just got the ARC for, and it's very easy to bump this up on reread to 5*. i love this, i love adunni, i love how it made me feel. i think being prepared for the broken english made this easier to enjoy, as i know it was a bit of a stumbling block for me the first time around.
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
original review 17/06/20:
This book is a real gem of a story, and is an absolutely amazing debut from Abi Daré. Since reading the final page, my heart has felt so many different things!
The positives:
✧ The Girl with the Louding Voice is such a touching story. There are a lot of difficult themes tackled here: forced child marriage, rape, human trafficking, domestic servitude. It's not necessarily easy to read, and it pulls at the heartstrings. Several scenes throughout left me feeling awful. But at the same time, there are a lot of heartwarming scenes as well. Once I got invested, it was hard not to care. It's a story that really makes you think (something which I'll come back to at the end).
✧ Adunni, the main character, is just a star. My heart felt for her and her story the whole way through. You can't help but root for her and just hope that things get better. Other characters who look out for Adunni or act as parental figures, like Khadija, Tia, and Kofi, are also very compelling characters. The stories of Adunni and her supporting characters are sometimes heartbreaking, but also very uplifting.
✧ The Rebecca plot line is introduced pretty late, around 50% through the book. It wasn't a necessary plot, but I liked how it was handled. It added another element to the story without taking away from Adunni's story.
The negatives slightly less positives:
✦ This book is written using the voice of Adunni, a young girl from rural Nigeria with very little formal education. As such, the book is written entirely in broken English. This, for me, made it a little tough to get into the book at first, but after a while I got used to it and it ultimately didn't stop me from enjoying the book. It does lead me onto my next point though...
✦ It was a little slow-going at first. By this, I don't mean that things weren't happening or that the pace was too slow. Just for me, it was somewhere between 25-40% through the book before I found myself itching to pick the book back up again. I read this book for 11 days in total, but it was in the last two days that I read about 50% of the story, so you can see how it took some time for me to find my stride. This was probably partly down to the broken English used throughout, but I can't say for sure.
I really recommend this book and I look forward to reading it again. As I mentioned earlier in my review, The Girl with the Louding Voice makes you think, a lot. What really made this book so emotional is understanding that Adunni's story is unfortunately the story of so many young girls around the world. What happens to her is happening right now. So, I was moved to do a little research on the topic, and below I want to list a few charities that are working to help people like Adunni, and I hope that you can take a moment to look at what they're doing and even support if you are able.
Girls Not Brides
Plan International
End Slavery Now
Devatop Centre for Africa Development
ACE Charity Africa
Books For Africa
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Abortion, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Infertility, Chronic illness, Excrement, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
itsjadenbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Violence, Infertility, and Rape
Minor: Abortion, Cursing, Miscarriage, Slavery, Emotional abuse, and Blood
lcg527's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, and Death
narbine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Cursing, and Trafficking
milliemay0907's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Trafficking, Sexism, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Child abuse
Minor: Blood, Cursing, Slavery, Infertility, Grief, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
anniefwrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Excrement, Infertility, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, and Pregnancy
absolute_bookery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
ekmook's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Trafficking, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Slavery
penofpossibilities's review
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Misogyny, and Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Miscarriage, and Cursing
Minor: Infertility, Police brutality, Vomit, Abortion, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent