Not what I expected. I will have to look to other resources for the information that I was seeking.
The turmoil, despair and corruption are rampant and never ending. This book doesn't hold back. Politics and money have nothing to do with the welfare of humans. I'm left dejected at the close of 'The Chibok Girls'.

This book was a really informative, although short, history of the Boko Haram and how they came to be in Nigeria. It was really less about the kidnapping than a history of the rise of militant Islam in the region, but it was informative. It seemed to be a fairly written piece, discussing how a few zealouts really turned their back on Islamic teachings and why they were able to influence so many followers. A good place to start if you want to learn more about the region, I think.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley and the publisher.

Other than through the media, I did not know much about the story of the Boko Haram kidnapping of over 250 girls in Chibook, Nigeria. I had hopes that this book would help with some of the details, but was left wanting more...a LOT more.
The author shares his own journey to Chibook, which is informative- the scary checkpoints, the kids carrying weapons and wearing fatigues, the bumpy truck rides. He finds a few people to interview that were present the night of the kidnapping, but doesn't go in to detail- this is what a wanted. Instead, we get more or less a "I heard noise, I looked, the girls were gone" clip. He also finds a girl to interview, but even that didn't provide anything other than "i jumped off the truck and ran".
The author spends more time talking about the politics that lead to the kidnapping, which are certainly interesting and informative. There is hardly any mention whatsoever of where the girls are now (either speculatively or truthfully) or what is being done to save them, or what Boko Haram is up to these days.
Overall this book left me with more questions than I had to begin with.
Thanks NetGalley for the free copy to review.

Does a pretty good job explaining key facts about the fight of Nigeria against Boko Haram and how the country and its people are affected by it.
Personal reports, interviews and links to other sources of material regarding the issue. Some reports are pretty bleak, like the father who lost his mind and wandered alone in the forest after his daughter.

I confess that even though I knew about the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, I never really looked at the subject in depth. It was another tragedy in a world full of tragedies. So when I saw this book, I decided that it was time to educate myself a little more on this subject.

The Chibok Girls is an account not only of the kidnapping, but also a clear explanation of the past and the current situation in Nigeria, and how the Boko Haram ended up carrying up such a thing. It's a large even to examine, and the author ties it together through a personal account of his trips to investigate more about this. And in order to understand the significance of the tragedy, the author goes into detail about the history and current situation of the area.

This is done through three parts. Part 1 contains an introduction to the area, the incident, and a brief history lesson. Part 2 is about the religious tensions in the area and Part 3 is more about the incident and contains an interview with one of the girls who have escaped.

At 112 pages, the book isn't very detailed, but it is a sufficient introduction to the Chibok Girls' Kidnapping and the meaning of it. And to a complete newcomer like me, the book has just enough details - not too much (which would be overwhelming) or not too little (which would have left me confused). I'm not sure what someone already familiar with the subject would think about it, though.

If you're looking to understand more about this tragedy, I think this book would be a good start. It's an easy to read book and does its intended purpose well.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

In 2014 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Nigeria by the terrorist group Boko Haram. In his short 128 page book, Nigerian born Helon Habila writes about the kidnappings plus Islamist militancy, politics, religion and the culture of life in northern Nigeria.

I found this book quite a shock and it has the same awakening effect on me as an episode of Unreported World, a current affairs documentary series on Channel 4 television at home in the UK.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world

Helon Habila takes the reader on a journey that is far removed from normal life in the Western world. It is quite a shock to read about the daily struggles of ordinary people in northern Nigeria. Helon explains the background to the region with it’s many violent conflicts, corruption, political squabbles and religious differences. Although the title refers to the kidnapped schoolgirls, this short book is basically about the political and religious scene in northern Nigeria.

I found this book very easy to follow and the issues involved very familiar. Although it is very sad what has happened over the years to the people of northern Nigeria, their experiences are not unique. Their political and religious struggles are mirrored across the whole of the Middle East and many parts of Asia.

Helon’s writing style is very similar to that of Robert Fisk and this book reminded me of Pity the Nation - Robert Fisk’s classic recounting of the clashes in Lebanon. Helon lays the history squarely on the table, explains the culture and the political and religious problems within the society but leaves the reader to make their own mind up regarding the causes and who the bad guys truly are.

I liked The Chibok Girls because it is a real story that was not widely covered by the Western media. It brought it home to me just how lucky people in the West are and how the same problems involving Muslims appear to repeat themselves, time and time again throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

I was pleased that Helon fully explained all the politics and religious issues involved. I found it informative and although the title is misleading, I got a lot from reading this short book. It was good to be able to learn about a foreign country from the comfort and safety of my sofa. There are many problems in this world and Helon enables us to understand it from the sidelines. I am pleased that Helon did an awful lot of research to give the reader the full picture and put the record into the public domain. He has made a great record and analysis of this period in Nigerian history and for this I think he deserves the top score of 5 stars. Well done mate for giving me a first class read with lots of politics and religion but no sex.

Although interesting, since I knew little about Nigeria and heard only through the media about the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, I was not overly impressed by it. Most of this book was nothing I could not have found out through news articles on the internet.