Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree audiobook

Wow, I learnt so much reading this. The world can be such a horrible place :(

This young-adult novel tells the story of the “stolen girls” of northern Nigeria, where the militant terrorist group Boko Haram has been burning villages, kidnapping the young girls, and slaughtering the rest of the residents. The author gives the reader a vivid picture of life in a small Nigerian village. The unnamed narrator is a young girl who excels at school, and dreams of new shoes, going to university, marrying a good husband – the kinds of things most girls dream of. She helps her mother keep the house, chatters with her best friend, and joins in village celebrations centered around the church. Christians and Muslims co-exist and work together for the good of the village and one another. But when Boko Haram attacks the village and she is kidnapped, taken deep into the jungle to the militant group’s camp, it seems her dreams are shattered. Forced to adopt a new name, to study to become “a good Muslim woman”, she learns to keep her thoughts to herself. Worried about her family and her friends, she must rely on herself – her intelligence, her prior education, her powers of observation – to survive with the hope of rescue or escape. How difficult to choose between escape and fear for your friends and family. How terrifying to witness your friend beheaded on the spot for refusing to swear allegiance to your captor’s beliefs. How easy it feels to succumb to the promise of better food and better housing that comes with adopting the “proper” demeanor and marrying a fighter. How impossible it is to maintain hope in these circumstances. Nwaubani’s writing is poetic and lyrical, with vivid descriptions and heart-wrenching scenarios. This is the first of her books that I have read; it will not be the last. The afterword is written by Viviana Mazza, an Italian journalist who has worked in several countries including Syria and Nigeria. The 2014 Boko Haram raid on a private school in Chibok where 276 girls were kidnapped captured world-wide attention – for a time. Since then most of the world has forgotten, if they ever knew, the names of these women (and many others taken in less widely reported raids). Mazza wanted to report on the continuing war, to document the real stories of women/girls who have been kidnapped by and rescued from Boko Haram. Her writing is more journalistic and suffers in comparison to the raw emotion of Nwaubani’s novel. However, it serves to educate the reader about the real atrocities being committed, the real challenges faced by those who escape Boko Haram. I applaud the courage of these girls and women who have come forward to tell their stories.

I don’t even know where to begin with this emotionally charged and powerful story. I was at a complete loss for words after finishing this book, it completely took my breath away. It’s both beautiful and horrifying at the same time and I won’t soon forget it. Shame on me but I knew very little about Boko Haram and the kidnapping of many Nigerian women and children by them before reading this book and it’s just appalling that such things are still happening in this day and age. I know it’s a fictional novel but it is based on interviews with actual women who escaped the clutches of Boko Haram and were brave enough to share their stories so there is a certain element of truth to it. Just thinking about those women and the horrifying things they went and are going through is absolutely devastating. And yet throughout all the despair you can still feel the girls hope that never quite dies and it’s truly inspiring. The way the author shines a light on these girls and their stories is just stunning and though it broke my heart I’m glad it also opened my eyes to all of it because this is something that everyone should know about and a book everyone should read.

Buried beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is one book that will forever stay with me, it covers the harrowing experience girls who have been captured by the extremist group Boko Haram face. Giving them life, making them more than just a number, stories in the news or movements like Bring Back Our Girls, sharing their stories, making them real people, not just tragic stories that are so out of touch from most of our own realities.This story isn't for the lightest of hearts because it includes all the terrible things we women are constantly afraid would happen to us. I heard Adaobi talk about this book, the pain of writing it, talking to dozens of families who had been torn apart due to Boko Haram, to hear their stories and give them a voice. How there's more going on than is brought to light by the news, I learnt a lot just by listening to her talk and reading this book than I have ever learnt from the media.The writing style of this book makes it a personal read because each chapter gives us full access to the thoughts of our protagonist, we vividly get to experience her life with her from start to finish of the book, starting with a time before she was abducted. Sharing her joy in the little things that made her happy, the love that she was surrounded by and her little worries before the fear started to creep in and infiltrate her little village right before the greatest of their fears came to life. Our protagonist is a brave young girl and is now my beacon of hope. Adaobi paints a vivid picture of life in captivity, which made my soul ache because of all the evilness. This story makes me more than thankful for my sheltered little life and I hope to never experience or come across people who are so inhumane. For the people who are currently trapped in this life, right now I can only hope the people in power retrieve them sooner rather than later and for them to find peace.The afterword by Viviana Mazza is one of the most remarkable pieces of writing I have ever read, so yes, this is a book everyone should read.

Truly heart-wrenching book, right up there with the worst stories to come out of the 20th Century holocausts in Europe and Cambodia - except that at least with those events, we know how they ended; with Boko Haram, there sadly remains no end in sight.Nwaubani's story takes up the bulk of the book, but it is Mazza's afterward that is the most depressingly informative. She argues (convincingly) that while BH is to bear the full blame for its atrocities, this situation would not have arisen without the long-term corruption and incompetence of the Nigerian government. So once again, we have two bad forces fighting for the title of "lesser of two evils," while it is the innocent people caught in the middle - a people, remember, who had survived for decades in multi-ethnic, multi-religious (relative) harmony - who suffer so greatly.Beautifully written and well worth a read, but man, you are not going to feel good when you're done.

This was so heavy and hard to read. It was heart breaking, gut wrenching, sorrowful, and tear jerking. Based on the tragic kidnapping of the Chibok girls, this was so so much. The Chibok girls were kidnapped in 2014 by Boko Haram, a religious extremist sect. Till date, not all of the girls have been recovered.This book focuses on Yata, a young school girl with dreams and so much life. Yata is the only daughter, with 4 brothers in a patriarchal society (many instances of this were all over the story). She's lucky enough to have a father who's invested in her education. Yata is such an amazing and lovable girl and I fell in love with her immediately. I kept reading this with so much trepidation, because of what the book is based on and I kept waiting for tragedy to strike.Tragedy did strike, and it shattered my heart when it did. There was so much heartache contained in the chapters of this book. There were graphic accounts of abuse, suicide bombing, terrorism, rape, kidnapping, murder, and grief. The women and girls kidnapped along with Yata went through so much. They ate the worst food, slept on twigs in the forest, and just suffered horrible conditions. Religion played a major part in this book, and I love hoe the author used the characters of Mallam Isa and Aisha to portray what true Muslims are. Yata used them in their argument against the brand of Islam Boko Haram claims to practice. Feminism is also an undertone in this book, and I loved how it was written in. Other topics covered in this book include period stigma, Nigerian politics, pregnancy, and so on.The afterword by Vivian Mazza is one of my favorite parts of the book, and it showcased the creation process, and also served as an expose of sorts. It showed that a lot of research and legwork went towards this book, and I really appreciate that. Robin Miles, the narrator of this book, did an amazing job.I highly recommend this book, but you need to get ready for some heavy reading and a lot of crying.

A solid 4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I had not kept up with the Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria since the Bring Our Girls Back campaign surfaced several years ago. This book, however, prompted me to do some additional research. The men loyal to the Boko Haram movement used tactics of starvation, physical and sexual assault, jealousy, and brainwashing to control the young girls and women they kidnapped, and at times were successful in radicalizing them. They used girls as young as 7 as suicide bombers. They trained young boys to be child soldiers and commit unspeakable atrocities. And they still have yet to be eradicated. 😞This fictionalized account is told in short, vignette-style chapters by an unnamed narrator who represents the experiences of the girls kidnapped from Chibok back in 2014. This format doesn't always work for me, as I feel like it lends to cold narratives and a disconnectedness from the characters, but in this book I felt like it actually created a laser-sharp focus for the most part. Although this was a "quick" read, the subject matter is heavy. I was left contemplating the levels of human depravity, martyrdom, brainwashing, and survival. I picked this for a Litsy bookclub, and also to fulfill my PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge for the "own voices" prompt. I read it in tandem while listening to the audio, narrated by the great Robin Miles. I recommend both formats!

Buried Beneath the baobab tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a coming to age retelling of a teenage girl enslaved at the Sambisa Forest by the BOKO HARAM….The setting of the story is in a village in the Borno state, where the villagers Christians and Muslims coexist peacefully together, but the town is attacked by Boko Haram, and the villagers are taken captive, with little hope of escape. While the boys are whisked away to begin life anew as soldiers, the girls are forced to become wives, religiously convert and submit-comply or be killed.During captivity, time becomes meaningless, “I arise each morning with no strength to think of tomorrow morning or the morning after tomorrow” The Protagonist narrator questions the Boko Haram’s beliefs about Isam and western education and finally concludes that Boko Haram has nothing to do with Allah.When they are finally liberated, most former captives find return to "normal" life extremely difficult, for a variety of reasons. In the chapter "Better Life" Salamatu wonders: "How will the mother of a child with bad blood lift her head high among normal human beings? Life in the forest might have been better for me."This book covers loss, assault, child soldiers, the effects of Stockholm syndrome, and even suicide bombing...and it does in a way for young adult readers. Nwaubani has created a novel that is a hopeful call out to the resilient human spirit, showcasing young people and their communities who struggle to create a path forward from a place of violence and despair.

4.5.

A heartbreaking and compelling read inspired by the Boko Haram's abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria. Some of the girls are still missing. https://bringbackourgirls.ng/

akjshfkjsd i have no wordseven though I couldn't relate it resonated so deep within me like-seriously more people need to know about this t-tTHIS BOOKis so unflinchingly painfulit's so powerful and heartbreakingand the story is so necessary but it hits so hardthe fact that this is a reality- it makes it a story that I won't be able to forgetI'll just always be thinking about thisreally though, this is a book that YOU should read. Everyone should read it ;-;like I'm actually interested about the boko haram - THE SAD THING IS THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW abOUT THIS AND I WOULDn'T EVER HAD IF IT WASN'T FOR THIS BOOKI am literally so grateful for buried beneath the baobab tree

I’m glad I read this book, it opened up a perspective that I wasn’t privy too, so many things happen around the world and so many realities that are not our own get ignored that I think for anyone to read this book it is a a great accomplishment on its own . I also agree that not many teens will pick this one on their own and that beyond a “special school project “ this book might get ignored, maybe that’s enough reason for this book to be read by people more.

I recommend this book with a box of tissues