Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Viviana Mazza

9 reviews

hakeyplummet's review against another edition

informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I'm always a fan of books with incredibly short chapters, and this one definitely fits the bill. However, with these short chapters, the story felt quite choppy (?). I assume the formatting was meant to somehow mimic diary entries in a way, but the resolute nature of the chapters undermined the story in my opinion. The real-life events that this story is based on have SO much depth and I was disappointed at how little it seemed as though this depth was not explored by the author. I just wish there was more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Gore

Minor: Miscarriage and Sexual assault

This book is about a girl who was kidnapped by Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist organization based in northeastern Nigeria. Thus, the book mentions non-graphic depictions of blood, gore, heavy weaponry, misogyny, etc.

samuraibunny's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The last section of the book bumped it up to 4 stars for me. Absolutely heartbreaking story. The afterword helped contextualize the story by adding parents' POV (in real life). Please check trigger warnings.

I found it interesting and important to see the radicalization of the main character's best friend. That and the exploration of the women's shame after returning really highlights that it's not a happily ever after once the girls return.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Rape, Murder, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Domestic abuse

livs_getting_bookish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, and War

Minor: Sexual assault

spark_879's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

shutupiamreading's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, War, Violence, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence

jedore's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

"But no matter how much the tortoise may wish to fight, he has no fingers."

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree is a fictionalized story of the kidnapping of a group of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic terrorist group on a mission to take over the northern portion of the country.

Not an easy book to read when you're on a mission to restore your faith in humanity….but, a necessary read to gain perspective on the tragic plight of our fellow humans living in Nigeria. Lots of sensitive topics, including kidnapping, slavery, sexual assault, Stockholm syndrome, and suicide bombing to name a few. Despite the horrific topics, I couldn't put the book down and am really happy I read it.

I appreciate that the author separated the actions of the "Muslim" terrorists from true Muslims, calling them out for what they are — psychopathic criminals using religion to justify their actions.

This book is good for both young and old adults. It's a very fast read with most of the chapters ranging from a couple sentences to a single page. It's unusual for me to finish a book in two days! I do think the fast pace of the book diminished my connection to the story a bit...although it was emotional, it was all over too fast.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pregnancy

readingwithk's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 This is an incredibly important and powerful piece of creative non-fiction (at least I think I would categorize it as such).

Told in vignettes, it tells the story of a young girl whose life is destroyed by Boko Haram. In order to tell this story, two authors worked together to interview real victims and used those accounts to create this piece of work.

A heartbreaking book that needs to be read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Death

nekomeith's review

emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault and Death

orchardmoon's review

challenging emotional informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Suicide