School Library Journal
★ 04/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—Growing up in Ghana, Naa Amerley fights an uphill battle to provide for her family. They are days away from being evicted from their one-room house when distant relative Rosina Idrissu arrives to hire Amerley as her maid. While reluctant to leave home, Amerley can't ignore the potential of the money to transform their lives and fulfill her dream of becoming a seamstress. The shocking excess of the Idrissu family's lifestyle initially unmoors Amerley, but she settles in and begins saving for her own sewing machine. Then, her dreams of a better future are violently derailed when the son of her employer rapes her. Confronted by the accusation that "no one will believe you—you're just the maid," Amerley grapples with her fear of speaking out. Readers will be drawn in by Amerley's struggle to survive extreme poverty and an exploitative world of wealth. The Ghanaian setting is well-conveyed through description and metaphor, such as when Amerley reflects on her "words bubbling up, on the verge of spilling over, like when you'd boil cassava for fufu and the steam would lift the lid off." Her clear, compelling voice drives the well-paced narrative, whose main weakness is an overly neat ending. A glossary of Ga terms is included. VERDICT With a strong, resourceful protagonist, a richly observed setting, and powerful messages about gender and class inequity, this novel belongs on all shelves.—Elizabeth Giles
MAY 2022 - AudioFile
Narrator Adjoa Andoh’s lilting accents and rich voice add to the sensory details of this novel set in Ghana. Andoh’s reading of this first-person story projects a sense of drama that increases during the dialogue as she depicts and differentiates characters. Sixteen-year-old Amerley, the oldest of four girls, has always been responsible for her siblings. To improve her family’s financial situation, she agrees to work for a relative. In their home, Amerley’s economic and social inequality are marked, but she adjusts. Then she’s raped by one of the sons of the woman who hired her. Eventually, Amerley speaks up—even when her voice shakes. A powerful story, a convincing heroine, and a view of Ghana seldom seen in a U.S. S.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-12-24
A teen in Accra takes a job in a wealthy household and finds the courage to speak up after she is sexually assaulted in this contemporary novel by a noted Ghanaian author.
Sixteen-year-old Amerley has dropped out of school and assumed the role of caretaker for her younger sisters due to her fisherman father’s absence and mother’s refusal to face their dire situation. The family is on the verge of eviction, and Amerley’s sewing skills bring in some income, although her dream of becoming an apprentice seamstress is out of reach financially. Her best friend, Sheba, and boyfriend, Nikoi, are also struggling, although Nikoi offers her family a temporary reprieve on rent with funds he had saved toward her apprenticeship. Then Rosina, her mother’s wealthy friend, offers to give Amerley a domestic position in her household, pay her sisters’ school fees, and support Amerley’s apprenticeship in two years’ time. Despite Amerley’s reluctance to leave home, her mother is insistent. Rosina’s gated luxurious dwelling is unlike anything Amerley has ever experienced, but the opulence masks serious family issues—and she is raped by a member of the family. Against overwhelming pressure to keep silent, Amerley testifies in court, becoming a beacon of hope for countless others who have endured rape and abuse. Amerley is a strong, well-drawn character surrounded by a complex supporting cast. The narrative is rich in cultural detail and universal in its themes of resilience and integrity.
A powerful story that will engage readers. (glossary) (Fiction. 13-18)
