Olivia Sose's Blog

I haven't felt any string pulling at my heart to review a book in a long time but after reading the first page of this book, I knew that not sharing my thoughts about it will be a grave sin.

The Girl With The Louding Voice written by Abi Dare is a powerful, emotional debut novel told in the unforgettable voice of a young Nigerian woman who is trapped in a life of servitude but determined to fight for her dreams and choose her own future.

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who knows what she wants: an education. This, her mother has told her, is the only way to get a “louding voice”—the ability to speak for herself and decide her own future. But instead, Adunni's father sells her to be the third wife of a local man who is eager for her to bear him a son and heir.

When Adunni runs away to the city, hoping to make a better life, she finds that the only other option before her is servitude to a wealthy family. As a yielding daughter, a subservient wife, and a powerless slave, Adunni is told, by words and deeds, that she is nothing.

But while misfortunes might muffle her voice for a time, they cannot mute it. And when she realizes that she must stand up not only for herself, but for other girls, for the ones who came before her and were lost, and for the next girls, who will inevitably follow; she finds the resolve to speak, however she can—in a whisper, in song, in broken English—until she is heard. (Synopsis got from Goodreads)

I stumbled across this book while browsing through Goodreads, click this link to follow me on Goodreads. The synopsis immediately caught my attention. The fact that it was written by a Nigerian author and it is set in Nigeria and it talks about a Nigerian teenager, simply bought me over.

My emotions jumped off the roof the moment I read the first sentence, it was a given that I was going to really love this book.

Abi Dare's use of language in this book solidified its authenticity. This wasn't like one of those pretentious Nigerian books that you can't relate to, books that are literally falling over themselves trying to please a western audience.

This book was written from the perspective of a fifteen-year-old poor village girl with very little education and the language reflects exactly that.

I wanted to do this review without posting any spoilers, so I'm going to be very minimal with details but I'm definitely going to do an in-depth analysis of this book, watch out for that.

My favourite character is Adunni (the heroine), her sorrow, her loss, her pain, everything was like a bundle that I carried along with her on this journey.

Deciding on my least favourite character is a bit of a struggle, I can't decide between Big Daddy and Big Madam. I am going to do a detailed characterization during my analysis of the book, so you are going to help me decide which of the characters should take the prize.

This book treats so many important themes like the effects of poverty, the importance of education for the girl child, child marriage, domestic violence, child trafficking and abuse etc. This book is rich with too many lessons which is one of the reasons why I definitely recommend it to everyone. It's an ideal read for teenagers although there are some scenes of sexual abuse, but nothing explicitly graphic.

My favourite quote from this book was a statement by Idowu(Adunni"s mother):

"Your schooling is your voice, child. It will be speaking for you even if you didn’t open your mouth to talk. It will be speaking till the day God is calling you come.

”That day, I tell myself that even if I am not getting anything in this life, I will go to school. I will finish my primary and secondary and university schooling and become teacher because I don’t just want to be having any kind voice . . .I want a louding voice.”

This quote encapsulates the drive behind Adunni's ambition for education. Throughout the novel, we see her resilience and fight to keep her dreams alive.

Adunni might be from a poor family and even if she was wronged by her father, her love for them shines throughout the book. The bond she shares, especially with Kayus, is something that warms the heart and reminds us about the importance of looking out for one another as family.

This story comes with so many intriguing twists, the plot developed seamlessly, It was really difficult to predict what could happen next, every turn was unexpected but completely natural. This is an amazing read and I give it a five-star rating.

If you've read this book, I will love to hear your opinion, please drop your comment below.

Is this a book you are willing to try if you haven't read it yet?

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I walked into the lobby of the hotel with my
stomach tied in knots.

I can't remember how I managed to walk from
my cab to the receptionist and even as I asked
her for directions to the hotel's restaurant, I had
already started to sweat on my arms.

Yes, I was nervous.

I was meeting Kelvin for the first time and
suddenly I felt like I couldn't do this.

I should turn around and go back home but
somehow my legs kept walking towards the
restaurant.

Then I saw him, he was exactly like in the pictures
and video chats but he didn't smile back at me
when our eyes met.

I suddenly heard a loud fart, that couldn't have
possibly been from me, or could it?

I quickly looked around to check if anyone had
noticed but luckily no one else was in sight,
It wasn't smelly, but why isn't Kelvin smiling at
me?

I'd tried his phone several times but it wasn't
reachable.

Kelvin and I met via Facebook three months ago.
It was on a heated comment exchange on one of
my controversial posts.
Although he made some reasonable points,
I was annoyed he wasn't on my side of
the debate.

We soon started exchanging messages and here
I am at The Golden Tulip Hotel Port Harcourt
meeting him for the first time.

Kelvin has never been to Port Harcourt and
I invited him so we could become physically
acquainted.

He had asked me to be his girlfriend and I wanted
to give him my reply while looking into his eyes.

I didn't understand why I was so nervous
but most importantly why was Kelvin acting like
he didn't know me.

I mustered up the courage and walked to his table,
“Hey stranger” I greeted with a smile on my face.

He looked at me quizzically, there was no warmth in
his eyes, “Good afternoon”, he replied.

“Kelvin, is there a problem? It's Rose, why are you
acting cold” I couldn't help but voice out my
concern about his behaviour.

“Ohh” he exclaimed softly. “Please sit down” he
ushered me into a seat at the table.

Gone was the confusion that previously clouded
his looks, now there was an amused smirk etched
on his face.

Was I a joke to Kelvin, was this meeting a joke?
These thoughts were running through my mind,
why was he acting so formal with me? This
wasn't the kind of the first date I was expecting.

“Rose!” I heard someone exclaim from behind me.

I turned around and there was Kelvin walking
towards me.

Another Kelvin!

He hurried up to me, pulled me from my seat, and
hugged me so tightly, “I take it you've met my twin
brother” he said.

“Wait, who's my Kelvin?” I asked as I gently pulled
away from his embrace.

They both laughed loudly “I am your Kelvin, that's
André, my twin brother”

I joined them in laughing as I pulled Kelvin into
another deep hug.

P. S This story is my entry for the Content Writing Competition by hotels.ng
The competition requires you to write about top hotels in Nigeria
For more information about this competition and how you can participate, CLICK HERE

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Seven Brunch Ideas for Sunday

Brunch is the meal you have in between breakfast and lunch.

It isn't breakfast neither is it lunch. It is a combination of breakfast and lunch.

Brunch is usually eaten late in the morning.

Personally, I think brunch is the meal you eat in the early hours of the afternoon because you skipped breakfast.

Anything you eat between 11 AM to 1:30 PM is brunch.

If the meal is after 2 PM then you're having lunch although you skipped breakfast.

Sundays are usually rice days in Nigerian homes, you are either eating fried rice, jollof rice or rice and stew.

It's still rice.

This might not be the practice in your home but it is at mine, and I'm honestly bored with rice.

I am tired of eating rice for brunch on Sundays, so I decided to look for more suitable options that can replace rice.

We usually don't have breakfast on Sundays, because we are so busy preparing for Sunday Service in the mornings. This means skipping breakfast until we are home after service.

Sunday service usually closes at 11 AM and then there is Sunday school which lasts until 12 PM.

We could get home at about 1 PM.

Everyone is tired and hungry and at the same time, rice isn’t an option because it has become a norm.

This blog post is for everyone who is tired after church and is hoping for a quick and delicious brunch that doesn’t include rice.

Below I have listed seven brunch ideas for Sundays that doesn’t include rice:

Eat Out

This is an absolutely amazing idea, there are lots of restaurants and cafes which are usually open on Sundays.

Remember you are tired and hungry, eating out would save you a lot of time and there are varieties of delicacies you can choose from the menu that doesn’t include rice.

This could also serve as a great opportunity for you and your family to hang out.

Buns And Batter

This is a really cool spot in Port Harcourt which opens at 12noon on Sundays. I've been there several times and I can recommend their customer services and the quality of their meal.

You can check them out on Instagram for further information

There are lots of similar places like this in Port Harcourt and am also sure in your city, where you can walk in with your family and have a very nice meal.

2. Order In

This is a great alternative to the first idea. Rather than eating out you can decide to order a meal and have it delivered right to your doorstep.
If you are in Port Harcourt, there are several food vendors that have the delivery options.
Tico's Kitchen is one of Port Harcourt's biggest food vendors and you can find her on Instagram @ticokitchen

You can follow @pitakwapreneurs on Instagram to find more Port Harcourt food vendors or @foodhubng on Instagram for more food contents in Port Harcourt.

3. Bole

This is a popular street food that is very easy to get especially if you live in Port Harcourt.

Bole is roasted plantain which is usually eaten with palm oil stew and roasted yam or potato.

Although roasted fish is the most popular protein that accompanies this meal, a lot of people have started having theirs with roasted chicken

It is very delicious and easy to get and all you have to do is walk down to the Bole woman on your street and grab your lunch.

This saves you a lot of time

4. Beans

This is a great substitute for rice.

Although it's not as quick to prepare as rice, it is highly nutritious and there are several varieties to this meal.

You can have beans porridge, rice and beans, beans and ripe plantain porridge, beans and yam/potatoes or even white beans and stew.

You can also use any protein of your choice like turkey, fish or chicken while preparing this meal.

5. Eba and Soup

I know this might be unusual but it is a great meal for brunch and this is convenient if you already have soup in the refrigerator, so all you have to do is prepare your Eba and heat your soup.

This could take around ten minutes to prepare, very quick and easy.

6. Oat/Akamu/Custard

These are quite easy to prepare. Whether you are having oat, pap or custard, whichever you prefer, they usually don't take so much time to make.

They can also be eaten with varieties of snacks like bread, akara, porridge beans, biscuit, moi moi etc.

You can also have them alone with fruits like strawberry, banana, almond, as toppings.

7. Plantain Peppersoup or Yam Peppersoup

This is very easy to make, as quick as pepper soup but you need to cook some unripe plantains(although some individuals prefer ripe plantains, it depends on your preference) or yams with the peppersoup and voila you have your plantain or yam peppersoup.

If you want me to drop my recipe for either plantain or yam peppersoup, let me know in the comment section and I will do that.