Caught in a strife between her separated mother and father as well as an estranged relationship between her mother and grandmother, 13-year-old Simi finds herself in Ajao, a remote Nigerian village, for the summer. Cut off from the internet and electricity, Simi dives into the magical and mystical workings of the village secrets that have had generations of children taken away as sacrifices to the goddess.
She discovers that her grandmother is a chiefess of this goddess and ventures into the underworld in what seems like a dream but, in hindsight, isn’t. With the looming disappearance of yet another child, the village and its chief have to make a decision between closing the lake (quicksands) that swallows up the children. Simi and her grandmother try to convince them to do otherwise, and her summer turns out to be a discovery of her purpose: to save these children.
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In this children’s book, Efua Traore takes her readers into the magical world of Ajao. She addresses the themes of African Traditional Religion and its constant strife with Christianity, as well as family strife and bereavement, in a very entertaining yet informative writing style.
I loved being taken on this ride with Simi and all the context she got into her mother’s anxiety over her wellness and the myths that she had long believed not to be true. I would definitely recommend this as a light and entertaining read.
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