Daughters Who Walk This Path
Growing up in Ibadan, Nigeria, in the 1980s, Morayo has an idyllic childhood playing with her beloved younger sister, Eniayo, and falling in love with a thoughtful schoolmate, Kachi. But Morayo’s life is turned upside down when her cousin, the surly and manipulative Bros T, slips into her room one night and assaults her. The attacks continue until Morayo, fearing Eniayo will suffer the same fate, tells her parents what Bros T has done to her. Bros T is sent away, but no one in Morayo’s family will speak to her about her ordeal, until her aunt Morenike, who was also raped as a teenager, takes Morayo under her wing and offers her niece an outlet for her pain and anger. Morayo earns a place at the University of Lagos, but her many dalliances with boys at school garner her an unwanted reputation. When Kachi unexpectedly comes back into her life, Morayo can’t envision a future for them. Kilanko’s debut is a powerful and completely involving bildungsroman that peels back the layers of women’s lives in modern-day Nigeria. --Kristine Huntley