I was not sure about this book when I first began reading it, especially from beginning by reading the summary on the back. This put me off reading the book at the start because the storyline sounded as if it would be a cliché. This is because many other books that are being published recently have this same sort of theme, as they deal with the big issue of asylum seekers entering Britain.
However, this summary does no justice for the real story, which really captured me and drew me into it completely, especially when I began on chapter four. The chapters previous to this were really an introduction portraying the sense of loss that Sade, the main character and her brother Femi feel at losing their mother, as well as showing what deep trouble they have now got into. But, in chapter four, when the children begin their journey across Nigeria to the airport, ready to be smuggled over to England, the story really begins to flow on its engrossing tale.
If I thought the plot was going to be a cliché before, then I was clearly mistaken because although it starts out slightly like this, the story twists and turns on its all-encompassing journey. There is trouble lurking behind every corner of the children’s “adventure”, which they find they must overcome in order to achieve a safe haven for them and their father and just get through school. It is a book that touches on many points, including the lack of justice around this world and that if we ever hope to achieve this we have to for it with the truth, such as what Sades’ father, Folarin Solaja, is doing, fighting for freedom and truth.
But, one particular aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the way that Sade is always making up different names for the people she comes across in her life. For example, she calls two police officers, “Miss Police Business” and “Cool Gaze” because of the way the act toward her, Femi and the owner of the English video store, who believes Sade and Femi to have been part of a plot against him. This section touches slightly on the problem of racism in London too, because the video shop owner says, “And three of ‘em was black as these two.” When he believes that Sade and Femi were sent into his shop a decoys so that the other children could come in and tear up his shop.
It is a great book that should capture the hearts of all those who read it and it has a very interesting way of getting the characters from A to B.
By Emma, aged 14.