“Diary Entry: 8/07/24 – The Girl with the Loudest Voice “

I can’t get through this book, but I’m falling deeper in love with every word. ‘The Girl with the Loudest Voice’ by Abi Dare is fantastic. This is my first book from Abi Dare, but it sure won’t be my last. I just need to muster strength to get through this book.

Although I’m only 17 chapters in, out of 56, so much has happened that I can’t fathom what will come next. It is a coming-of-age novel that follows Adunni, a Nigerian teenage girl. The time period was never stated, but elements of the Biafran war were mentioned, so it is safe to say we are sent to the late 60s and early 70s, which contributes heavenlyly to my seeing my grandma through the protagonist.

I felt like I was getting a glimpse of a situation that could have easily been my grandma’s. My grandma and Adunni were motherless young girls who married during the Biafran war. My grandfather was much younger than Adunni’s ‘husband’ and was an utterly abusive pig who learned how to speak. They were both expected to marry.

My grandmother never wanted anything else in her life; Adunni constantly does. Seeing how her whole environment is slicing her hopes in her face makes me feel like my grandma would have faced the same pushback. Because anything dampened her role as a wife and mother was never entertained.

I do not know much about Abi Dare, but I know creation mimics the creator. Therefore, she is woven into her culture. She does a fantastic job of showing the Yoruba culture with the customs and language she implements. Though she is telling a difficult story, I sense her love for her people.

I can’t wait to find out my final thoughts on this book.