Recently, for my school’s English class, I read Purple Hibiscus, which is a book about a girl named Kambili growing up in a wealthy but abusive household in Nigeria. This was probably one of the best books of this genre that I’ve read, as it contains plenty of interesting themes, as well as having a deep overall meaning.

At the start of the story in chapter 1, Kambili witnesses her father hurl a leather missal across the room after her brother, Jaja, defies him by refusing to attend church. Here, the first signs of the fact that her father is abusive is revealed. however, at this part, Kambili tells the reader that this event was later in the book, after everything else happened.

The start of the actual story begins on chapter 2, with the story taking place at Kambili’s house. this second chapter gives important background information on the family, their economic condition, as well as other details that will be important for later. It is also revealed that Kambili lives in a very religious household, with her father pushing the faith on her and her other family members. As the story progresses, the author makes it more and more apparent that the father clearly uses his religion to control his family, as well as further showing the extent of the influence of abuse on Kambili, her brother, and her mother.

What made this book very interesting was how the author took inspiration from her youth but obviously included elements of fiction added to it. In fact, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TED talk about the book as well as the “danger of the single story“, which I highly recommend watching before reading this book, as it provides the reader with some background on the book.

Overall, This was a great book, and I would recommend it for anybody who is interested in an emotional, moving story.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie is a beautiful and heartrending novel, following the lives of several different Nigeria in the 1960s- during a short but tumultuous existence of the independent South Nigerian republic, Biafra.

The novel follows the lives of Ugwu, a young Igbo houseboy to an upper-middle-class Nigerian university professor named Odenigbo, as well as that of Odenigbo’s beautiful fiancée, Olanna, her headstrong twin sister, Kainene, and Kainene’s own fiancé, a shy young British writer named Richard, as they try to survive the political, social, and cultural upheaval that comes with the new republic. At first filled with revolutionary zeal, their lives quickly turn into a struggle for survival in the new country.

I loved this book. It is a heavy read, but Adichie’s writing is beautiful and poignant. I’d never really read an African historical novel before, so this was my first experience. It was reminiscent for some of my own family experiences and stories too- a lot of my family suffered during the Indo-Pakistani partition, and I found many parallels to that experience here. This is a novel that will make you re-examine everything you think you know about war.

This book contains graphic descriptions of mature themes that are not suitable for all audiences.

-Vaidehi B.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.