Review by Samisah -- The Neighbour At Number 18 (Reload)
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Samisah
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Review by Samisah -- The Neighbour At Number 18 (Reload)
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Neighbour At Number 18 (Reload)" by Hawa Crickmore.]
3 out of 4 stars
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The Neighbour at Number 18 (Reload) by Hawa Crickmore is a novella-like book filled with issues that the average man would rather avoid due to its sensitive nature. Our society today would rather discuss politics and money than talk about important family and societal issues like drug abuse, "sexual predators", and marital challenges that in recent times, have disturbingly taken the back seat. These and many more are the themes that Hawa Crickmore sought to bring to limelight.
The story follows the sister like friendship between two single mothers; Maureen and Brenda, who share common challenges; the lost of a husband and the struggle to raise children as single parents. Their friendship also brought their kids together as Brenda’s daughter, Maria, became very good friends with Maureen’s daughter, Emilia. But when Emilia gave in to the ungodly advances of her mother’s boyfriend, she was blackmailed by Tyler, her cousin who witnessed the act, into recruiting young girls into his own predatory lair, in exchange for his silence. Running out of girls to trick, Emilia then groomed Maria for her cousin. The consequence of this sexual abuse on the young Maria was too much to bear. Maria was scarred for life. Her memories of that fateful day would hunt for a long time. But love they say conquers all things, and Maria's case was no different.
I like the simple language employed by the author although it contains mature sexual content. There were very few instances of profanity but I struggled to cope with the chapter arrangement. They seemed independent with each one a different tale. However, I commend the author for carefully weaving several themes into the storyline. Each was carefully explain in the context of the story and given due attention. Issues such as bullying, abusing drugs, prostitution, sexual abuse especially at home by supposed uncles and aunties were given a lot of attention. Parents should be watchful of the lifestyle of their children and the kind of friends around them. One can never be too careful.
I noticed couple of grammatical and punctuation errors, misspellings and so on while reading and this was a let down. I don't think it was well proofread because doing so would have eliminated these issues. Also it didn't end well for me. It may leave many readers dissatisfied with the abrupt conclusion.
I would have given this work the maximum rating possible but for the lapses already mentioned, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this work to every parent and teenager above eightren for the many lessons and silent messages inherent because I think they stand to gain a lot from it.
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The Neighbour At Number 18 (Reload)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Neighbour at Number 18 (Reload) by Hawa Crickmore is a novella-like book filled with issues that the average man would rather avoid due to its sensitive nature. Our society today would rather discuss politics and money than talk about important family and societal issues like drug abuse, "sexual predators", and marital challenges that in recent times, have disturbingly taken the back seat. These and many more are the themes that Hawa Crickmore sought to bring to limelight.
The story follows the sister like friendship between two single mothers; Maureen and Brenda, who share common challenges; the lost of a husband and the struggle to raise children as single parents. Their friendship also brought their kids together as Brenda’s daughter, Maria, became very good friends with Maureen’s daughter, Emilia. But when Emilia gave in to the ungodly advances of her mother’s boyfriend, she was blackmailed by Tyler, her cousin who witnessed the act, into recruiting young girls into his own predatory lair, in exchange for his silence. Running out of girls to trick, Emilia then groomed Maria for her cousin. The consequence of this sexual abuse on the young Maria was too much to bear. Maria was scarred for life. Her memories of that fateful day would hunt for a long time. But love they say conquers all things, and Maria's case was no different.
I like the simple language employed by the author although it contains mature sexual content. There were very few instances of profanity but I struggled to cope with the chapter arrangement. They seemed independent with each one a different tale. However, I commend the author for carefully weaving several themes into the storyline. Each was carefully explain in the context of the story and given due attention. Issues such as bullying, abusing drugs, prostitution, sexual abuse especially at home by supposed uncles and aunties were given a lot of attention. Parents should be watchful of the lifestyle of their children and the kind of friends around them. One can never be too careful.
I noticed couple of grammatical and punctuation errors, misspellings and so on while reading and this was a let down. I don't think it was well proofread because doing so would have eliminated these issues. Also it didn't end well for me. It may leave many readers dissatisfied with the abrupt conclusion.
I would have given this work the maximum rating possible but for the lapses already mentioned, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this work to every parent and teenager above eightren for the many lessons and silent messages inherent because I think they stand to gain a lot from it.
******
The Neighbour At Number 18 (Reload)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
