This was a little hard to get through but I'm so glad I did! An inspiring and uplifting tale; Adunni was a character I loved to root for.

Sometimes reading about the plight of women around the world can feel daunting. There's so much subjugation and trauma inflicted everyday. When I started reading Abi Dare's book, I was worried that it would be too difficult to get through. The book starts off with the main character, 14-year-old Adunni, being married off to a middle-aged man to help her father and brothers stay in their home after they've run out of money. As the book progresses, Adunni is faced with all kinds of horrors and heartbreak. But strangely enough, there's this beautiful thread of optimism that runs throughout the book. So, instead of feeling weighed down by the impossible obstacles Adunni is facing, I felt this hopeful feeling all the way through. This is a testament to Dare's ability to create a protagonist that had such an amazing heart and spirit.

It felt difficult at first to get used to the writing style since Dare uses broken English to bring Adunni's voice to life. However, that quickly wore off, and I was able to just appreciate every line as a testament to how well Dare was able to describe Nigerian life and its people. This book was especially impressive as a debut - I can't wait to read what she comes up with next.

It is the language here that taps the readers soul. Adunni is fourteen and sold to a man years her senior. He wants a brood mare , Adunni wants an education. Running to what she hopes is a better future, her lack of status, education, forces her into a place of servitude and dependency. Slowly her voice emerges and she sees herself whole for the first time. Whole and ready to give rise to a voice for others so they may also rise. A must read for young women everywhere who think they need to stay quiet.

I highlighted this book on my Booktube channel. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/Vuk6cDTe9tU

There are the books that I will remember for a long time and this is one of them. Adunni is a 14 year old girl that lives in a small village in Nigeria where she dreams of being a teacher one day. She has so many different obstacles and goes through so much abuse as she strives to rise above to reach her dreams. I felt that the writing style and voice was really unique for this book. The story was well written and definitely captured my attention as she made her way in the world. I believe that this story was hopeful and inspirational and will reach the hearts of many readers. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley. This one definitely lives up to all of the hype.

One of the best books I've ever read. This is a very unique and important story. Adunni has an extremely difficult life but continues to fight for a better life every day. The amount of struggles and hardships Adunni faces was very heart breaking and eye opening. Many of Adunni’s struggles are not common problems in the United States where I live. I learned a lot about Nigeria from reading The Girl with the Louding Voice. Chapters start with a fact about Nigeria. Most of these facts were very surprising to me.

I highly recommend everyone read The Girl with the Louding Voice. I heard many praises for the Girl with the Louding Voice and it definitely lived up to the hype.

This book was so unique and very enjoyable. It was one of those books that once you start reading it, you can’t put it down. I highly recommend this book!

I’m going to go ahead and start my top 10 pile now and this one is going right on top! I did not want this book to end.

Since this book has received stellar reviews all over, my review is going to consist of some quotes that stuck with me:

“My mama say education will give me a voice. I want more than just a voice, Ms. Tia. I want a louding voice,” I say. “I want to enter a room and people will hear me even before I open my mouth to be speaking. I want to love in this life and help many people so that when I grow old and die, I will still be living through the people I am helping.”

“Tomorrow will be better than today. I am a somebody of value.”

“That we are human. Of value. Important.”

“Because it is true, the future is always working, always busy unfolding better things, and even if it doesn’t seem so sometimes, we have hope of it.”

In closing, despite vastly different backgrounds, we all have “book friends” that have saved us in complicated times.

Side Note: I really enjoyed when the facts about Nigeria started and that they coincided with the events of the chapter.

The Girl with the Louding Voice is the unforgettable debut novel of Abi Dare. Not long after fourteen-year-old Adunni loses her mother to illness, her father marries her off to an old man to become his third wife. But Adunni dreams about finding her “louding voice” and use it to better herself and her future. She wants to go to school, become educated, and eventually teach.
This book provides stark social commentary on the women’s issues that persist in Nigeria today. The patriarchal Nigerian society continues to sanction child marriage, brutal ceremonies and abuse, domestic slavery and the lack of educational opportunities for girls.
Adunni is an inspirational character and this book is a must read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Wonderful simply wonderful. I haven’t read something like this before so I was very happy to have enjoyed it as much as I did. I highly recommend.

4.5*
Nigeria is a large African country that suffers from poverty and oppression. Dare’s book deals with arranged marriage, domestic abuse, lack of education, class divide and female subjugation. One might think that this is a historical setting but the events portrayed are from 2014. These abuses are happening today and we should all be appalled.

Adunni is fourteen when married off to an older man with multiple wives who abuses her. After a tragedy occurs, she runs away, but with no education, no money and no prospects, she is desperate and takes a job as a servant. The husband and wife she works for are both abusive so Adunni finds herself a victim once again. Her most fervent desire is to have a “louding voice,” a chance to get an education and speak up for what’s right and maybe teach other poor girls like herself someday.

The audio book is superb. Listening to Adjoa Andoh’s narration transports readers to Nigeria and the oppressive world of Adunni. The characters spring off the page with the nuanced performance. Dare has created powerful verbal images of Adunni and those around her. The characters are distinctive and beautifully developed. This book enlightens us about the oppression people in Nigeria are subjected to as they struggle to survive. It highlights the critical imperative for education and the need to empower women in a society that undervalues them. Not only is this a book that many should read but one best listened to so the flavor of Nigeria can be savored.

This was such a good book. Very unique. One of those that you can't help but get swept up in from page one. Cannot recommend it enough.

When you feel a book in your soul even though you are so very different from the protagonist, it's a life-changing book. In the vein of "Wintergirls" and "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson, "The Assignment" by Liza Wiemer, "Remembrance" by Rita Woods, and "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erica L. Sánchez, "The Girl With the Louding Voice" makes you think, makes you feel, lets you experience this world that you know nothing of. Adunni's experience with poverty, child marriage, rape, domestic slavery, learning in spite of it all, and escaping it to continue her education in Nigeria is something I haven't experienced, but I felt her pain, struggle, and fear on a visceral level. Abi Daré's book, written in Adunni's voice as she learns English, is so moving and so breathtakingly heartbreaking and inspiring. Adunni is the hard-working, ever-dreaming role model that young women, especially young Black women, need.

What a fantastic, fabulous read! I had so much hope for the main character. She had so many injustices visited upon her simply because of her gender. I felt every heartbreaking moment in my heart. I wanted to cry for her and I felt every moment of happiness as if I was right there with her! So much happened to her in her short life so far. It would be wonderful to read a sequel and find out that her dreams came true! Fabulous author! I would definitely read anything she wrote.

I couldn't put this down. Great story about a country that I know little about. Highlights lack of educational opportunities for women in NIgeria while sharing many details about culture and customs. Great book to share with young adults when exploring human rights in various cultures. You're left with a feeling of happiness at the outcome for the main character, who in many cases was just lucky in some of her encounters but als frustration at the fact that the culture really didn't change.

Loved loved this book! Everyone should read this one. It is one of those books that stays with you well after you are finished! The characters are so real and you feel like you know them all

The Girl with the Louding Voice is simply phenomenal and suitable for high school readers through grandparent-aged readers! If you’re looking for an eye-opening novel set in nearly present day but in a culture different from your own, look no further thM Abi Dare’s novel. You definitely won’t regret it!

I absolutely loved this uplifting story and its brave, funny, strong intelligent main character, Adunni! Though so much of her story was heartaching, I loved how determined and hopeful she remained,, and how much strength she displayed as she persevered through every hardship she had to endure and always kept her mind on her goal of going back to school. I really hope we get a follow up story about where Adunni’s life takes her from here!

I loved this title so much! I saw the recommendation for this book from another reviewer and decided to try it. Even during a busy season of life, I made the time to read this because it was such a page turner. I hoped there would be a little bit more to the ending, it hangs a little bit but over all I loved it.

The Girl with the Louding Voice in a beautifully woven tale of a young girl born to a family in a small village near Lagos, Nigeria. The dialectical writing style brings the reader into the main character Adunni's innermost desires, thoughts, and emergent independence of self.

We are introduced to Adunni, immediately following the death of her beloved mother, she is 14 years old and at a common age for girls to be sold into marriage agreements in her village. You immediately get the sense of family loyalty and her deep longing and love of her mother. The family is unable to afford rent and food, so rather than Adunni going to school to get a "louding voice" as her mother had encouraged and dreamed for her, Adunni's father sells her in a marriage to a man with 2 wives. Adunni's journey doesn't end there, she moves through heartbreak, hope, joy, and friendships; the reader cannot help but fall in love with Adunni.

I highly recommend this novel by Abi Adare, my only complaint is that the novel isn't longer!