Simi is a teenage girl used to the hustle and bustle of the busy city of Lagos. So, when her mother has to go to London for a work training the idea of spending her summer holiday in Ajao is her worst nightmare. Worse yet, she\u2019ll be spending it with a grandmother her mother has avoided talking about, in a place with no phones, no internet, barely any entertainment, no electricity away from everything family.<\/p>\n
Simi is not thrilled by her mother\u2019s decision but ultimately realizes that there is no other option. Her mother would rather die than ask for help from her ex-husband who has quickly fallen into a new relationship. But Ajao is not all that it seems on the surface as Simi meets her grandmother, a woman who insists on being called Iyanla, a herbal healer and a priestess of Oshun.<\/p>\n
She is lured into the bush by the otherworldly tune of a golden bird\u2019s song and falls into an enchanted pool of quicksand. The quicksand is a portal to another world very unlike the one Simi is used and is ruled by a shadowy figured called Layo. When Simi escapes she is determined to pretend that the experience is no more than a vivid dream but when Iyanla tells her the myth of Layo, Oshun\u2019s son who is spirited away in a paradise to hide away from death, compounded with the fact that a child goes missing every ten years and more and more children are vanishing with a quicker frequency, Simi begins to realize that perhaps her ties to Ajao might run deeper than she or anyone ever realized. She determined to find a way to rescue the children of the quicksands before it is too late, and the world is lost.<\/p>\n
Children of the Quicksands is a simply written young adult fantasy that is rich in Yoruba mythology and does a fantastic job of introducing the world of Ajao to the reader.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest standout factors is how much the author excels at creating a rich, 3D world in Ajao, the setting just flies off page as we view the place through Simi\u2019s wonder-dazzled eyes. Ajao is filled with rich greenery, with trees and a forest thick enough to get lost in. From the perspective of city girl, Simi has a grudging respect for the raw untamed nature of Ajao and despite her scepticism that she would have nothing to do, she is quickly drawn into warm embrace of the inhabitants of Ajao.<\/p>\n
Iyanla is another stellar aspect of this book. She is described as a diminutive woman who is a pillar of the community and respected by all. Simi is impressed by Iyanla and wouldn\u2019t be? Her fiery personality practically leaps off the page as her fiercely protective nature is immediately obvious to Simi. Though the woman has her secrets, there is no doubt from the beginning that her intentions are pure and good.<\/p>\n
The writing on this book is superb and easy to read which makes it ideal for the targeted audience but it also means that people of all ages can enjoy this book. While Yoruba is interspersed into the narrative (it is a Yoruba village after all), the author is kind enough to provide a glossary of unfamiliar words just in case the words are not clear in their contextual meaning.<\/p>\n
As a book that uses Yoruba mythology as a backdrop for the mysterious goings-on, it is refreshing to see that the author sticks close enough to the source material rather than twisting an established mythological pantheon for the sole purpose of fitting into the purpose of the story. The fact that the readers have multiple mysterious to ponder on moves the plot along at an okay pace.<\/p>\n
Not all books are perfect and this one is no different. The pace of this could have been better, the first half of the book was slower, and the second half felt rushed. Of course, without giving spoilers away it is hard to contextualize exactly how this is so, but Simi spends the first half of the book denying what she has experienced. Understandable, yes but she dwells on the schematics a little too much and then the end feels a little rushed. Sher definitely gains the insight she\u2019s been struggling with practically overnight. The last half of this book moves at lightning speed and leaves the reader feeling a little bemused.<\/p>\n
But the book must be fantastic if the only critique one can muster is that it finished a bit quickly. This is one of those books that one wishes there will be a sequel of, or a book series at the very least. But we don\u2019t always get what we want, do we?
\nThis book is a solid 8 out of 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Simi is a teenage girl used to the hustle and bustle of the busy city of Lagos. So, when her mother has to go to London for a work training the idea of spending her summer holiday in Ajao is her worst nightmare. Worse yet, she\u2019ll be spending it with a grandmother her mother has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[335],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-1324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","thb-post-share-style1"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n