4.0
An Ordinary Wonder
ByPublisher Description
**WINNER OF THE MAYA ANGELOU AWARD**
A Massachusetts Book Award "Fiction Honor"
An extraordinary literary debut about a Nigerian boy's secret intersex identity and his desire to live as a girl.
Oto leaves for boarding school with one plan: excel and escape his cruel home. Falling in love with his roommate was certainly not on the agenda, but fear and shame force him to hide his love and true self.
Back home, weighed down by the expectations of their wealthy and powerful family, the love of Oto's twin sister wavers and, as their world begins to crumble around them, Oto must make drastic choices that will alter the family's lives for ever.
Richly imagined with art, proverbs and folk tales, this moving and modern novel follows Oto through life at home and at boarding school in Nigeria, through the heartbreak of living as a boy despite their profound belief they are a girl, and through a hunger for freedom that only a new life in the United States can offer.
An Ordinary Wonder is a powerful coming-of-age story that explores complex desires as well as challenges of family, identity, gender, and culture, and what it means to feel whole.
A Massachusetts Book Award "Fiction Honor"
An extraordinary literary debut about a Nigerian boy's secret intersex identity and his desire to live as a girl.
Oto leaves for boarding school with one plan: excel and escape his cruel home. Falling in love with his roommate was certainly not on the agenda, but fear and shame force him to hide his love and true self.
Back home, weighed down by the expectations of their wealthy and powerful family, the love of Oto's twin sister wavers and, as their world begins to crumble around them, Oto must make drastic choices that will alter the family's lives for ever.
Richly imagined with art, proverbs and folk tales, this moving and modern novel follows Oto through life at home and at boarding school in Nigeria, through the heartbreak of living as a boy despite their profound belief they are a girl, and through a hunger for freedom that only a new life in the United States can offer.
An Ordinary Wonder is a powerful coming-of-age story that explores complex desires as well as challenges of family, identity, gender, and culture, and what it means to feel whole.
44 Reviews
4.0
Veliane ÉFO
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Brittany
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Codie Ceniceros
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Ellie
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“What a beautiful book. Whilst for the majority of the book I felt such intense anger that made me want to scream at the page, there is also joy, beauty and hope in this book.
For about half the book we get chapters from the perspective of Oto’s 12/13 year old self as well as chapters from Oto’s 14/15 year old self which almost merge half way through into a linear format. I’m not sure this completely worked and I’m wondering if there would have been a better way of doing it.
Having said that, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this it was a wonderful read and I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, just be prepared for a rollercoaster of emotions.”
About Buki Papillon
Buki Papillon was born in Nigeria, the oldest of six. After studying law at Hull University in the UK, she completed an MFA in Creative Writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her debut novel, An Ordinary Wonder, has received rave reviews and mentions in the New York Times, Ms. Magazine, Essence, Cosmopolitan UK and more, and is brilliantly narrated in audiobook by Bridgerton Actor, Adjoa Andoh. Buki has received several fellowships and awards for her writing and is an alumnus of Key West Literary, Vermont Studio Center and Vona Voices residencies and workshops. Her work was published in Post Road Magazine and The Del Sol Review. She has in the past been a travel adviser, events host and chef. Buki currently lives in Boston, where she is resigned to finding inspiration in the long winters.
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