This is a story about men getting away with things. Weak men who are threatened by strong women, and men who know the women will keep silent rather than risk ostracization. Men whose political power protects them. Men who abandon a wife and children under social pressure, then expect to command the children.

It is the story of women who suffer by men’s actions and inactions. Who elect silence over justice, fearful of condemnation. And of women who stand up for themselves, and the price they pay for it.

It is the story of life in Ghana, where people die in hospitals from neglect, and in America where qualified people of cover lose jobs to the novices they had mentored.

Two cousins, childhood best friends, become estranged because of family secrets. After her mother’s death and her father starts a new family, Selasi moves in with Akorfa’s family. Akorfa is expected to become a doctor and her parents pay for the best education available. Akorfa’s parents also pay for Selasi’s schooling, but when she is found with a boyfriend, her punishment is to do the work of a maid and cook. After all, her grades landed her in home ec classes.

Akorfa’s academic success takes her to America where she encounters racism and jealousy at school and in her career. Selasi becomes an entrepreneur, opening a successful restaurant in Ghana.

Each woman tells her story in the novel, first Akorfa, then Selasi, revealing new perspectives on what had happened. Decades later, the women are brought together again, discovering their shared trauma.

I received a galley from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. ( )

Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie stands like a wall in support of black women in Africa. It is a voice for all the suffering endured by African women for all these years. The storyline is focused on Akorfo and Selasi, two sisters, and their ordeal with their own families. Although I haven't read many black authors, I could never connect with their narratives. But Nightbloom came as a whirlwind in my reading passion. At first, I was fully impressed with Akorfo's character until Selasi's version came along. Her pain was a shocking revelation for me. Of all these characters, Lucy was the one that I hated the most. It forced me to ponder the situations that are forced on women just in the name of respect.

Nightbloom is a powerful blow to a male-dominated society where women are also biased. Definitely, the book will create a stir among the readers of fiction. Selasi's character is much more bold and responsible, and she sets an example for all the women out there. And if women are also not safe at home, then what can we expect from the world? The book compels and imprints itself on the reader's mind in such a way that they will not be able to forget it for a long time. Definitely, the book deserves 5 stars. ( )

Akorfa and Selasi are cousins in Ghana. Though they are cousins, they become inseparable as sister's might be. The two are born on the same day, go to school together, but over time over time their relationship changes. Selasi becomes hostile and withdrawn, and Akorfa becomes embarrassed by her behaviour. When Selasi's mother dies during childbirth, she is abandoned by her father, and goes to live with her grandmother, and extended family. The two go their separate ways, Akorfa to the USA to university, while Selasi remains in Ghana, and makes her way through polytechnic school in Home Economics.

The story is told from both Akfora's point of view, and then from Selasi's. We discover that both have , unbeknownst to each other, suffered abuse in silence This is a touching story of race, class, parental abandonment, abuse and different cultures. I look forward to reading the author's first book, His Only Wife. ( )

Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie is the coming-of-age story of two Ghanaian girls in the last part of the twentieth century. Akorfa and Selasi are very different, and while they are inseparable as children, their lives diverge, and as the novel ends they are in very different places. In the first section, we hear Akorfa's story and see her explanation for the rift with Selasi. Then, in part 2, we get Selasi's point of view. They are both fully developed characters, and we see how their personalities develop over time. I like that there is not one version of the story; Medie allows her characters to tell their stories and the readers can draw their own conclusions.

Through these compelling stories, Medie explores contemporary Ghana and reveals the importance of family in Ghanaian society, a place with no other real safety net. Yet, there are downsides to family as well. Women are second class citizens, and there is little protection for the most vulnerable when the family breaks down. In the stories of Akorfa and Selasi, we see the precariousness of the lives of the girls.

This is a fascinating novel that looks at a variety of experiences in Ghana. ( )

The American dream makes us smile. Everyone knows what it means. Yet, is the US still a place where parents from other countries want to send their kids to attend college when there’s racial prejudice, gun violence and an increase in crime? Perhaps a decade or so ago, it wasn’t as bad.

That’s when Akorfa’s parents wanted the best for their only daughter. They were willing to empty their saving’s account to send her from Ghana to America so that she may become a distinguished doctor. She had been groomed since she was a young girl to study hard and make her family proud.

Her best friend was Salesi. They laughed, played and loved each other to pieces as young girls until something happened which changed everything.

The book has three parts. First is Akorfa’s POV, second is Salesi’s POV and third puts the two together. When I started reading about Akorfa’s early life, I wanted to know at the same time what was going on with Salesi. The timing was off when I had to wait half way through the book to learn about her friend’s world. It would have been more in sync to switch chapters back and forth from Akorfa to Salesi.

However, I was engaged from the first page with the characters I could visualize. Both Black girls were thrown into a world that wasn’t easy and so foreign to many of us. I just wanted to reach out and embrace them with love.

My thanks to Algonquin Books and LibraryThing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )