e-Audio, 04:56:53
Narrated by: Hannah V. Sawyerr
Release Date: September 19, 2023
Published by: Recorded Books, Inc.
Read from: September 12-20, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Sexual Assault, Pedophilia, Bullying, Rape, Grief, Religious Bigotry, Death of a Parent
For Readers Interested In: Novels in Verse, Sparkly Covers, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, YAIn the vein of Grown and The Poet X, a searing and defiant novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community.
Sixteen-year-old Amina Conteh has always believed in using her tongue as her weapon—even when it gets her into trouble. After cursing at a classmate, her father forces her to volunteer at their church with Pastor Johnson.
But Pastor Johnson isn’t the holy man everyone thinks he is.
The same voice Amina uses to fight falls quiet the night she is sexually assaulted by Pastor Johnson. After that, her life starts to unravel: her father is frustrated that her grades are slipping, and her best friend and boyfriend don’t understand why the once loud and proud girl is now quiet and distant. In a world that claims to support survivors, Amina wonders who will support her when her attacker is everyone’s favorite community leader.
When Pastor Johnson is arrested for a different crime, the community is shaken and divided; some call him a monster and others defend him. But Amina is secretly relieved. She no longer has to speak because Pastor Johnson can’t hurt her anymore–or so she believes.
To regain her voice and sense of self, Amina must find the power to confront her abuser—in the courtroom and her heart—and learn to use all the fighting parts within her.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This isn’t something that I would normally love. I am usually NOT a fan of novels in verse OR religious bigotry, but when I heard this was a loose recounting of what happened to the author AND said author is Black, I knew it was something I had to try. And I’m excited to say this was a definite win for me. I loved it.
First off I want to start with the characters. I wanted so badly to hug Amina. It was so sad. I hated that she had to go through all that dumb shit at school. I hated that she was having these thoughts about religion and then it betrayed her and proved her right. I hated that she was having so much trouble with finding the courage to get him by herself with no one. But I was also SO PROUD that she was able to still do these things and not give up. I can’t imagine the feelings and thoughts she had while trying to do this.
Usually I don’t like novels in verse because the story feels choppy. But in this one, the story flows perfectly. It has so much information and so many feels that it doesn’t feel like you’re missing anything at all. The story was easy to follow and I was listening to this on audio at 2.1. I think the fact that listening to it was also a good reason as to why it was easy for me to follow along. It was like just listening to someone talk.
The narrator was also great. So much so I put down the physical ARC to listen to the audio because I heard it was the author. And she was great. I LOVE listening to audios of novels in verse when the author is the person who does it. They always know when to do the voice inflections and special effects. For example, there’s a part in this book where something is repeated over and over, and just from the way she says it and the way she seems to be out of breath and getting mad at while she says it was just amazing. I definitely made the right call with picking up the audio instead.
There was so much feeling in this novel. I was mad and fighting the air at a lot of the other characters, I was sad and crying real tears for Amina, and I was happy for the ending that came out of so much fear and sadness. This is one you don’t want to miss! Pick it up if you haven’t already!
Overall, I give this
