A READ WITH JENNA TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK! Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by the New York Times, Marie Claire, Vogue, Essence, PopSugar, Daily Mail, Electric Literature, Red Magazine, Stylist, Daily Kos, Library Journal, The Every Girl, and Read it Forward!
"A courageous story."--The New York Times
"A celebration of girls who dare to dream."--Imbolo Mbue
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.
BIO
Abi Daré is the author of The Girl with the Louding Voice, which was a New York Times bestseller, a #ReadWithJenna Today Show book club pick, and an Indie Next Pick. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and went on to study law at the University of Wolverhampton and has an MSc in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University as well as an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. Abi lives in Essex, UK with her husband and two daughters, who inspired her to write her debut novel.
REVIEWS
Adunni’s brave, fresh voice powerfully articulates a resounding anger toward Africa’s toxic patriarchy. . . . Daré draws the reader in with a vivid character whose dire circumstances are contrasted with her natural creativity (she keeps her spirits up by composing comic songs imagining a fabulous future) and her undying will to survive. . . . Throughout her harrowing coming-of-age journey, told with verve and compassion, Adunni never loses the ‘louding voice’ that makes Daré’s story, and her protagonist, so unforgettable.” -- The New York Times Book Review
“Inspiring . . . explores a spirit and hope that cannot be contained even in the grimmest of circumstances.” -- Entertainment Weekly
“It will break your heart and then it will put it back together again.” -- Jenna Bush Hager on the Today show
“I'm excited about this debut novel from Nigerian author Abi Daré. . . . In Nigeria, and around the world, girls are fighting for their right to learn. I'm grateful to Abi for showing the challenges Nigerian girls face and showcasing the power of their voices.” -- Malala Yousafzai
“A courageous story.” -- The New York Times
[P] Dutton / February 23, 2021
0.9" H x 8.3" L x 5.5" W (0.7 lbs) 400 pages