Gorgeous prose, and an incredibly moving story, the intersectional identities of queerness are rarely put at the forefront of contemporarry literature so I really appreciated this

DNF. This seemed like the type of book I would like, but I tried a few times to start and just couldn't get past the first 10%. Just failed to hook me unfortunately.

Blessing was a great read though heartbreaking in places. It is an impressive debut featuring Obiefuna's coming of age in Nigeria as a gay man. It was interesting to read his mother's point of view as well. Thank you to the author, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are some stories that are great without necessarily being enjoyable and that’s what this one made me feel. It’s so important for queer POC to feel represented in literature and it was sad that this felt quite hopeless at times, but I imagine that’s because it is the reality for many people who identify with this. A brilliant debut.

A moving and powerfully written coming of age story, about a young man growing up gay in post war Nigeria. Not always an easy read but important to remember that homophobia is devastating.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this was really good but really sad. It was a quick read, and though several years of the the main characters life were covered, it didn't feel rushed.

This is the heart wrenching story of Obiefuna, and how his father sends him to a strict religious boarding school after he catches him kissing another boy. He basically cuts him off from his family and especially from his beloved mother.

Obiefuna has to keep his sexuality hidden as Nigeria moves to criminalise homosexuality, and he finds himself living a lie at school, and even participating in another boys brutal beating.

This could just be an emotionally devastating story of an ostracised boy, but there is love in this, from Obi’s mother and those he meets when he leaves school. He is a resilient boy and man who does find love.

I listened to this on audiobook (from Xigxag) and it was read so well by Fejiro Emasiobi and Tariye Peterside. This added much to the story itself - even just by teaching me how to pronounce the characters names properly. They also ramped up the emotion for me, especially when Obi is a boy.

This is a stunning debut and well worth a read (or a listen!!).

I hadn't heard anything about this book before it was sent to me but it's a really moving story of a young Nigerian man's journey to accept his sexuality, in the face of a family that cannot fully support him and a hostile government who wishes to outlaw him. Recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A stunning debut novel from Ibeh. I look forward to reading his future work.

Set in Nigeria, this heart wrenching coming-of-age story follows Obiefuna's teen and young adult life after he is sent away to boarding school when his father witnesses a private moment between his son and his teenage apprentice. As Obiefuna grapples with his new life at this strict Christian school, he also has to face the question of his own sexuality. Meanwhile, his mother Uzoamaka is adrift without her favourite son by her side; a separation that has tragic consequences.

Ibeh paints a beautiful picture of the mother-son relationship between Obiefuna and Uzoamaka, rendering their connection so vividly that we feel their losses deeply. We are able to grow up with Obiefuna in a way that allows us to know him intimately. Ibeh also tackles the big question of just how devastating the impact of political decisions can be on the lives of marginalised groups in society by addressing the abolishment of LGBT+ rights in Nigeria for political gains in 2014. The deep hatred some characters express towards LGBT+ people is terrifying for Obiefuna and creates an internalised homophobia that seeps into his future relationships.

Ibeh has produced a poignant and thought provoking debut that, while inducing me to rage against the powers that be, ultimately left me feeling hopeful for people in Obiefuna's position. A novel that will stay with me for a very long time.

This was such an emotional and wonderful story, raw and honest and authentic. While I wasn't hugely invested by Obiefuna's mother's perspective straight away, by the end of the book I thought it added more layers and texture to the story, that really emphasised how it was his relationship with his mother that taught Obiefuna how to love and what love could look like. There were so many aspects to this story that I loved, from Obiefuna's relationship with his family, his identity outside of his sexuality, the complicated relationships between queer people who aren't dating and aren't friends but are still aware of each other and feel like they owe each other something. I thought the politics was a little heavy handed, but that's likely because I'm more familiar with it all so it felt like the target audience for such sections was cisgender heterosexual readers rather than myself.

I really loved the prose, and I've underlined several passages that I connected with, but this line of dialogue is perhaps my favourite:

'It's one thing to love a child, but it's an entirely different thing for the same child to feel loved. The boy is young. He'll get a lot of "buts" in his lifetime. A home is the last place a child should feel conditionally loved.'


I really loved this book and would definitely read other work by Chukwebuka Ibeh.

Blessings is a queer coming of age story of a young boy, Obiefuna in Nigeria. Obiefuna is sent to a strict seminary school when his father catches him with another boy and decides his differences are too much and that he needs to change. We follow Obiefuna through his teenage years into adulthood and get to see him develop into his true self. We also get the POV of his mother missing her son and the guilt of not letting him be himself.

I found the story very interesting and thought surely it was set very long ago as same sex marriage illegal ( not even just marriages, anyone assumed to be gay could be arrested) but it’s set in the 2010s and it’s still illegal to be gay or trans in Nigeria. I was shocked, I ignorantly thought it was legal everywhere now.

This is another reason why diversity in your reading is so important. Even though a majority of my reading is fiction, a lot of the time there are real world facts I’m learning from these stories.

A strong debut from an author to watch! Ending was a bit lacking so that's why it's not a full five-star.

This book did not go where I was expecting it to from the synopisis, and I really appreciated what it actually did. A coming of age story set in 00s and 10s Nigeria about queerness, identity and family, this was a very moving read. The prose was simple and direct, which I think worked well for the story being told and it was accomplished and very readable, despite the hard events tackled head on. Although this could easily become a trauma narrative, the way it rested in the stillness and quieter moments of life, and built relationships between characters that were nuanced and complex stopped that from happening. The complexities of time and culture were well explored and I enjoyed the moments of love our main character was allowed. The sections from the mothers perspective were weaker however, and due to where the narratives went I feel like they didn’t quite make sense to be included.

This was a beautiful heartbreaking story about finding acceptance around who you are in a country that being who you are is illegal.

Obiefuna has grown up in Nigeria. When his father hires an apprentice from a local village his life changes. Soon after the apprentice arrives, Obiefunas father witnesses an intimate moment between the two males. His father banishes him to a Christian boarding school where strictness and violence rule. Despite being separated from his family and everything he knows eventually Obiefuna starts to flourish and beings to accept who he is. Alongside this view point we also have snippets from his mother, Uzoamaka, who wasn't informed of the reason her son was sent away but feels like she has lost her other half. We follows Obiefuna through school and into his early adult years where he finds love in a country that is further and further restricting his sexuality in the law. 

It's a story of loneliness, restriction and heartbreak, but also of love and finding your own path. It was a beautiful novel and I can't wait to see what Chukwuebuka Ibeh does next.

In this novel, we follow a young man as he navigates his sexuality and the shame that comes with it, firstly at a school where he is told people like him are an abomination, and then as an adult where he finds joy and release, but also shame at what he has done in his life to survive.

The opening passages of this book build to something fascinating and well told, but I did feel as if the later portions of his life were a little rushed in this story, although I enjoyed seeing a side we don't often see in these narratives- queer underground networks where love and joy are central.

After catching his son Obiefuna in an intimate moment with his apprentice Aboy, Obie's father decides the best path forward is to send him to a seminary. However, even at boarding school, Obie continues to grapple with his sexuality. His struggles deeply affect not only him but also his mother, Uzoamaka, who mourns the loss of her beloved son.

My heart went out to Obiefuna; he was denied the freedom to be himself, especially in terms of embracing his sexuality. Despite making some friends, he remained profoundly isolated, unable to fully connect with them.

Blessing offers perspectives from both Obie and his mother, Uzoamaka. While I appreciated Ibeh's choice of storytelling, the execution felt disjointed to me, hindering my immersion in the narrative.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. I found it really interesting to learn about how queerness is perceived in another culture to my own. The only reason it isn’t 5 stars is because I found the ending lacking, it felt like it ended in the middle of a paragraph.

"A home is the last place a child should feel conditionally loved."

After witnessing an intimate moment between his son (Obiefuna) & his apprentice (Aboy), Obie's father decides that the best course of action for his son is to send him to a seminary. Obie continues to struggle with his sexuality whilst at his boarding school. Obie is not the only one to suffer, Uzoamaka, his mother, is struggling heavily with the loss of her favourite son.

I really did feel for Obiefuma, he was never allowed to freely be himself, and by "himself", I mean that he was never freely able to embrace his sexuality. He was extremely isolated, despite making some friends, he was never able to truly feel at ease within these friendships.

Blessings is told from the perspective of Obie & his mother. I thought this was an interesting choice from Ibeh, but it didn't work well imo as it felt rather disjointed.

I'm still unsure how I feel about 'Blessings' overall. Ibeh definitely has the makings to become an amazing author, but whilst the writing was decent, the pacing of the story was a huge issue for me, at times it felt that lots of words were flying about, but not a lot progress in terms of the plot.

Similarly, I felt the same in respect of Obiefuna's character development. This may be primarily due to his battle with accepting his homosexuality & his constant masking amongst his family & friends.

I can see why many rooted for Obiefuna in this coming of age story & went on to rate Blessings highly, but for me, I think this needed a lil more razzle dazzle to blow me away.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

"Numbed by tragedy, humbled by grief, he demanded little from life."

Thank you to @vikingbooksuk for my copy 💖

4.5 stars
"More than that, he had been haunted by monotony. Every breath he took felt like a taunt, every face he saw, every voice he heard too familiar, too reminiscent of what he had lost, reminding him too much of how altered his life had become"

Blessings, a beautiful and yet heartbreaking novel, is an absolutely outstanding debut from Chukwuebuka Ibeh. Following Obiefuna on his coming of age story through alienation and violence to self-discovery, whilst also intertwining with his mother's perspective, who is so desperately clinging to her relationship with her son. This sets up a wildly entrancing dynamic throughout the novel. Ibeh was also able to create such an environment within the book by which the readers heart cannot help but beat for the characters. With key themes of love, loneliness, grief, self-discovery, and homophobia, Blessings is a novel which begs the question of how free can one truly live their life, not only at a personal level, but much wider at the societal level.

"How do you begin something beautiful with the certainty of its end? You gave yourself over to love and lived the rest of your life knowing you never stood a chance."

If you get the chance to read this book, take it.

It's hard to believe that "Blessings" is a debut novel, it's so skillfully written.

Set in Nigeria, the story of a queer teenage boy is a very powerful and touching read.

It's beautiful, heartbreaking  and realistic at the same time. 

"Blessings" captures loneliness, homophobia and isolation. It's extremely difficult to read about a young boy scared for his life, for just being himself.

I'm sure many people are judging the main character's parents for being unsupportive of their own child. In my opinion they did the best they could to help Obiefuna, based on their knowledge and political situation. Let's not forget how conservative Nigeria is, especially that the novel is set just as the country criminalises homosexuality. 

What is the story about?

Obiefuna was caught in an intimate situation with another boy, by his father. Straight away the son was sent away to a Christian boarding school. All boys school, for that matter. Was it a wise choice?

Anyways, the school rules are very strict, the students need to stick to a routine and endure a never ending circle of violence. Some of them will be scarred for life.

Few years later Obiefuna graduates and moves on to another school, but the loneliness and the feeling of being misunderstood and abandoned doesn't end. 

I won't give you any spoilers but the ending broke my heart.

 The worst part of this story is that although it's a fictional novel, as you read this, there's so many "Obiefunas" in the different parts of world scared for their lives on a daily basis.  

Thank you @Netgalley for providing an ebook,