Review by obwaterry44 -- Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw

[obwaterry44]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Leaving Dahomey is a book based on the West African Kingdom around the 1840's. The book revolves around the life of a 15 year old girl named Adeoha. Her life starts changing when she is selected to join an ancestral cult known as the language of the drums; a rigorous dance that keeps the Oracle spirit alive by narrating stories within it. This happens when her best friend Sewextu first, conditions the council of the ancestral cult to accept Adeoha or else she Will not join the sect, then secondly challenges Adeoha to join it. Adeoha is amazed by her friend's request and gladly accepts the challenge since the dance intrigues her and poses a challenge to her.

After two months of training they are to be initiated in the cult. During the initiation ceremony all initiates were supposed to perform a dance. Adeoha performs a unique dance known as the dance of anticipation which leaves the audience in awe of her. The older members of the cult and a few audiences believed her dance to be the magic of the Oracle which has been awaited for many generations.

Although Adeoha cuts her ties with the language of the drums, she continues to perform dances which makes her to be known far and wide. Her fame makes some Noble men who had wanted to do away with her family to start spreading rumors around the kingdom, that her father wants to overtake the kingdom and become king. This makes the king weary, and in order to save her life and her family she escapes with her newly formed friends to an unknown land.

My favorite character is Adeoha. She is agile, has a strong wit,respectful, adventurous, fearless and speaks her mind freely. My favorite part of the book is when Adeoha performs her last dance during the contest. The author,Jude Shaw, use of vivid description in that dance made me feel like I was among the audience. The stories within the story allows one to love cultural diversity and even see how cultural stereotypes can ruin clans.

The book is enticing to read.The characters feel real. His knowledge about the African culture is intriguing. I loved how the author Jude Shaw, intertwined the present with the past and the use of vivid description to make the reader understand certain scenes. He tries to use suspense hence making one see second guess what a character will do next hence, I rate it 3 out of 4. What I disliked about the book is too much explanation on un-key characters. Most of the words are spelled correctly. Otherwise the book is a good read.I would recommend this to both young and old readers who are fans of mythical stories, love the African culture and appreciate it.

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Leaving Dahomey
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