Okay, so this novel was not at all like I expected (perhaps I should have read the flap more carefully) but it was still really good. It’s a surprisingly complicated and engaging story about a girl named Sade and her brother Femi who live in Nigeria but have to leave suddenly after their mother is killed by the government. Their father is a controversial journalist who is not afraid to speak the truth and, therefore, is not well-liked by the government. They meant to shoot him but killed mama accidentally and dad is worried they’ll go over the kids next so they have to flee. Dad arranges for them to be smuggled to London, where his brother lives.Anyway, yes, this is technically a young adult novel but I struggled to view it that way while I was reading. The issues are actually really complex and you have to have a decent grasp on Nigerian history and politics as well as colonization and the relationship that England and Nigeria have in this novel. It’s not talked about explicitly but unless you are aware of certain things, I don’t think the novel would make a lot of sense. I thought the story felt very realistic overall and Beverly Naidoo was able to convey how the characters felt quite well. I thought it was interesting that a lot of the story comprised of the students’ experiences at school. This part of the novel felt very YA to me but at the same time it’s important for us to realize that immigrants (refugees in particular) face a lot of challenges when they arrive in a new country. They have to get used to the customs, often the language (although Sade already spoke English in this novel), and they have to deal with peer pressure and fitting in. Other parts, though, all of the dealings with Mama Appiah, Auntie Gracie, their father (in prison), the immigration lawyer, and others all felt way too mature for some younger readers. I did feel like the ending was a bit too optimistic for my liking (again, very YA) but I was glad it turned out the way it did.I really liked that African proverbs were mixed into much of the story. I think proverbs are wonderful, especially for young adults who need to sort of infer their deeper meaning. I would have liked for there to be a greater focus on Nigerian culture in this book and I realize now that I can’t use it for the purpose that I had intended (African culture-themed book clubs) but I still think this is a great book that I’m sure I’ll recommend to some people. I’m just not sure yet who.
The other side of truthBeverly Naidoo Life is perfect for a family in Nigeria until the mother is tragically killed by the government, this book takes you on a journey of the children going to London and their struggle to find their Uncle who was supposed to be waiting for them. Along the journey they encounter many problems like being ditched at the London, and getting into trouble with the police.I could not relate to Sade, this is because i have never had to move country to live and i have never been in a situation where the government is unfair to you. I don't have a little brother either. It must of been hard for them to loose their mother in such a quick way, i could not relate to this either.An important relationship in this book was between Sade and Femi's home. I thought it was important because when they are England they keep having flashbacks to when everything was good in Nigeria meaning it was something important to them.One of the parts in the book which had me thinking was when Mrs Bankole left the kids at the airport. I was thinking why would you do such a thing to such young kids. I kind of liked this book, I say this because there were some interesting parts and other times it was really boring. Some parts were interesting like the part where they got abandoned and they did not know what to do. A boring part was when they were mucking around with a social worker.I would recommend this book to someone younger than me and for someone who likes things about the government and times where the government is unfair to their people. I am not into these kind of book but it opened my mind up to know what happened in Nigeria with BP and Ken Saro Wa Wiwa at these hard times for Nigerians.Nicolas Barker
What do You think about The Other Side Of Truth (2002)?
TW: Death, violence. Set in 1995, this novel details the experiences of Sade Solaja, a 12-year-old girl living in Nigeria during the regime of General Abacha. Because of her father’s role as a journalist, Sade’s mother is killed before the events of the novel and she and her family are forced into hiding in England. Because Sade, her father, and her brother, have not entered the country legally, her father is taken into custody and she and her brother are separated. At the end of the novel, her
—English Education
The Other Side of Truth tells the story of a Nigerian family's escape from their beloved home in Africa to England. The father is an outspoken journalist. He reminded me of the American revolutionists: he spoke out about the injustices in his country, he moved his press time and again to avoid discovery, and he was targeted as an undesirable element. The events in this book take place just after the sham trial and heinous execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Naidoo does a fine job of placing this within the context of the story. After the mother of the family is mistakenly murdered instead of the father, the two children are whisked away to England. Their traumatic trip and harrowing experiences upon reaching England are sanitized somewhat for the age group for which this story was written, but it works quite well. I'd recommend this book for any 10-12 year old, especially those with an interest in history and social injustice.
—Elisabeth
This helps me on my around the world journey: Nigeria has now been visited.Sade and Femi are smuggled out of their country for their own safety and away from everyone and everything they know after their mother is murdered by the government due to their father being a very out-spoken journalist who wants the world to know the truth about Nigeria. In the UK they are abandoned by the woman paid to deliver them to their uncle and when they finally get to his place of work, they discover he is missing too. So now we have two young people who have been abandoned in a strange country,not knowing anything and not trusting anyone. After being mistaken for thieves they go into care while people try to discover their story. A huge part of the story is also about how they are treated at school and i think this is important with the number of refugees who are coming into the country and having to cope with life in new schools.When their father does make it over to them, he gets detained and the Nigerian government say they are after him for murder and needed him sent back. After seeing a programme on the TV, Sade goes to talk to one of the presenters and gets their story shown so her father now has lots of people behind him.
—Den
