Review of Leaving Dahomey

[Yulia Dewi]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Leaving Dahomey" by Jude Shaw.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Having noble and rebellious traits inherited from her mother lady Lamtaala, who at the age of 16 already made a name and fortune of her own by ventured a trading business, and the grandmother, Lady Glyya who's equal to any man in Da's belly, for her bravery and intelligence. Lady Glyya spent her time studying the law of inheritance and found the flaws that make her eligible for receiving inheritance like her brothers. Adeoha had developed a fearless attitude that brought her to several events that pave the way for her adventures.

Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw is a story of belief, tradition, and friendship. The story starts with the mischief Adeoha does to fulfill her curiosity about what the boys talk about during council meetings. That mischief mind ever so often also brings Sewextu, Adeoha's first friend, to the scene. We could tell that they have a beautiful and adventurous friendship despite their status differentiation because Sewextu is a non-noble.

Her friendship with Sewextu could be counted as the most important plot that led Adeoha to a turning point event in her life. Because of Sewextu's invitation to join the initiation ceremony of the tribe of the Language of the Drum. What surprised her was the easy acceptance from the elder for her to become one of the initiates, and that's not because of her mother's lineage but from her father's side. The secret Tubutu's, Adeoha's father kept even from his own blood and wives. How would Adeoha's experience with her ancestors during her day as the tribe of the Language of the Drum's initiate affect her life and those around her?

This book is the first book in the series Friendlytown Trilogy. The story is very interesting because it is historical fiction and gives us some knowledge about the life of the African tribe's society, folklore, and tradition in an easy and simple vocabulary that can be understood by anyone. The plot is neat and written in a chronological way.

Despite the interesting part of the story, sometimes I feel bored due to the slow development of the story and the long awaiting of the turn point event, and sometimes I felt confused at the switching part between actual events and a flashback from characters.

I found no grammatical errors in this book and it's definitely well proofread. I will rate this book 4 out of 4 because of the interesting idea of a story and have no grammatical errors.

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Leaving Dahomey
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