Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree Hardcover – September 4, 2018

I picked this book on a whim because it was available instantly through my library’s ebook program on Libby. It was so good I finished it the same day I started it.This is such a tragic tale and it’s so terrible that something like this is not only real, but still continuing today.Women are not free until we are all free. Men are not free until we are all free. Where one is slave to another, none of us can live in peace.Something has to be done.

A solid YA book that's more mature than most and makes you think. This is a great starting point for anyone interested in learning more about Nigeria and the rise of Boko Haram. It prompted me to spend several days doing additional research on Boko Haram, their victims, and what's being done to defeat them.This fictionalized account is told in short, vignette-style chapters that make it a quick read despite the heavy subject matter. A possible downside to this format is that the reader might not feel intensely connected to the characters.Overall though, this is a great book that made me more aware of Boko Haram, their supposed "purpose," and tactics they used to control the young girls and women they kidnapped, including starvation, abuse, jealousy and brainwashing. The afterward was also very informative. I was left contemplating the levels of human depravity, martyrdom, brainwashing, and survival. Finally, Robin Miles' narration is fantastic as always. Highly recommend!

This is an important story, but I wish it was told a little better. I felt it could have gone deeper in details and had overall more impact. This is an import subject, and the real life stories of these girls is horrifying. I pray they all make it home someday.

This novel was such an emotional read. I wasn't aware that some of the things discussed happened to so many innocent people. I appreciate the fact that these authors chose to help tell this story and I enjoyed the format it was told in. If you haven't picked this book up yet give it a go...such an eye opener.

Wonderfully told story. My 13 year old read it for summer reading and encouraged me to read it too. Opened up a great discussion and learning experience.

not due to style but to content. Pieces together from real stories by the kidnapped victims, this work would make for a great book study and should spur anyone who has read it to some sort of action.

Good read! Written well. This story is about the 276 Nigerian girls kidnapped on April 14, 2014 by Boko Haram, a terrorist group. This story is based on the girls experiences.

Such a great book and a really easy read!

Warning: Light spoilers aheadThis novel treats the subject of Boko Haram terror and gives a voice to the girls whose lives were irrevocably altered by Boko Haram's terrible raids.The protagonist grows up in wholesome, poor family in rural Nigeria.She is an ambitious, excellent student and is determined to meet all academic challenges in her path - her goal is to earn a scholarship so she can study at the best school. Her family background is staunchly Christian, supporting and loving. Her school, despite keeping up antiquated and partially violent teaching methods, is also shown as a haven of knowledge. She is very concious of education being her gateway to a different quality of life.Books are her most valued gems - too expensive for her family to purchase, but full of knowledge - the tools to her trade.In contrast to other times, where higher education was not yet deemed an appropriate goal for girls/women, this novel depicts her environment as proud and encouraging of her academic endeavors. Yet, the conditionsdo not allow for girls to obtain an education as easily as boys - when they menstruate, they have no access to adequate sanitary products and often stay home due to shame. Despite these and other challenges, the protagonist excels in her class.But the looming threat of Boko Haram - an allegedly "muslim" terrorist group - becomes all too real for her and her friends when their villages is raided and razed to the ground. Many residents are killed, many girls are abducted - among them the protagonist and her friend.Gone is their usual daily routine, their family, their freedom. They now face hunger, beatings, indoctrination and many other dangers...

Conseillé par ma prof de toeic et j’ai hâte de le lire ;)