Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

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

5 reviews

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

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

joyful_tomato's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

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