Play Book Tag discussion

Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram-3 stars


Oh, how disappointing.

This is an account of the kidnapping of over 250 girls, known as The Lost Girls. In April, 2014 an Islamic militants group, known as Boko Haram, entered the town of Chibok, Nigeria and abducted the girls from their boarding school. Boko Haram made sure the world knew why-Women Do Not Need Education. This story needed to be published, many of these girls are still being held, the world cannot just forget about them.

It is unfortuente that the author decided her story, for some reason, needed to be told in the book. The parts about the abducted girls kept me interested. The book was developed by interviews with 4 of the girls who made it out. I loved this portion of the story. Then, out of nowhere, a chapter would appear, talking about only Sesay and her mother. I get it, your mother was educated. She made sure you were educated. There was no need to tell your audience this 4-5 times, filling chapters with the same information. Sesay's background would have easily pleased me, had it been in the afterward.

If you want a "meat of the story" book, I would wait to see if someone else publishes it. All 3 stars I gave the book are for The Lost Girls-none for the writing.

In 2018 I saw a short film called Waiting For Hassana that tells of the kidnapping and escape of one girl who continues to wait for her friend Hassana who remains missing. It was harrowing and heartbreaking. You might see if you can find it online. It was shown as part of the 2018 Athena Film Festival at Barnard College, NYC.

Theresa wrote: "In 2018 I saw a short film called Waiting For Hassana that tells of the kidnapping and escape of one girl who continues to wait for her friend Hassana who remains missing. It was harrowing and hear..."

Thank you, I will check that out

Dang, what an important and impactful story, influenced by negative storytelling. I was super interested in this, as I'm not very educated about this situation, but don't really want to read this book.

Joi wrote: "Dang, what an important and impactful story, influenced by negative storytelling. I was super interested in this, as I'm not very educated about this situation, but don't really want to read this b..."

I hated to to 'dis this book Joi-like you said a very important story-just the wrong person telling it-Originally was going to go 2 stars, but because of the importance of the book, I couldn't do it

Joanne wrote: "I hated to to 'dis this book Joi-like you said a very important story-just the wrong person telling it-Originally was going to go 2 stars, but because of the importance of the book, I couldn't do it"

I remember thinking similar things when I read I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. It's a memoir, but clearly written with assistance by a ghostwriter. I gave it 4 stars still, but the negative impact of the storyteller was definitely there.
Here's my review of that one.

Joanne wrote: "Theresa wrote: "In 2018 I saw a short film called Waiting For Hassana that tells of the kidnapping and escape of one girl who continues to wait for her friend Hassana who remains missing. It was ha..."


It is a story that needs to be told - and I knew little until I saw this documentary. I strongly recommend watching this which though short, really tells the story in a meaningful way. Here's the description from the festival program:
Waiting for Hassana
Directed and written by Ifunanya Maduka
Documentary Short, 2017 [Nigeria] Hausa, 11 minutes
In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 teenage girls in Nigeria. Waiting for Hassana is the harrowing account of one girl’s escape from captivity and a lament for her closest friend, Hassana, who remains missing.

There's a Facebook page for the film and I suspect it's on YouTube. Also was shown at Sundance.