No Laughter Here

December 22, 2003
In this disturbing and poignant coming-of-age novel, Williams-Garcia (Fast Talk on a Slow Track
; Like Sisters on the Homefront
) explores how two girls experience very different initiations into adolescence. Ten-year-old Akilah (whose name means "intelligence" in Swahili) feels ambivalent about being an "early bloomer." Instead of brooding about the changes in her body, she would rather be playing with her Nigerian friend Victoria, who is spending the summer in Africa with her family. Akilah looks forward to Victoria's return to America, but when Victoria finally does come home, she is different, acting quiet and withdrawn and treating Akilah like a stranger. Worst of all, Victoria "won't laugh." The author plants subtle clues as to Victoria's dramatic change (e.g., Victoria overreacts to the word "operation," in math class). But most readers will be as baffled as Akilah wondering what happened to Victoria in Nigeria to make her so sad. Then the shocking truth comes out during a heart-breaking confessional: While back in their homeland, Victoria's parents forced her to have an operation, and Victoria no longer feels whole. This contemporary tale about the ancient rite of female circumcision will no doubt leave an indelible mark on preteens. The author attempts to remain objective, showing how and why the ritual is still practiced in some cultures. Nonetheless, what readers will remember most about this honest novel is Victoria's physical and emotional pain and how her trauma dramatically affects Akilah's perception of Victoria's parents and her own pride in her heritage. Ages 12-up.

February 15, 2004
Gr 5-8-The friendship between two fifth-grade girls is at the center of this powerful novel, which also deals with the issue of female genital mutilation (FMG). Akilah, a 10-year-old African-American girl from Queens, can't wait for her best friend, Victoria, to come home from a visit to her grandmother in Nigeria. The Victoria who returns home, however, seems like a very different girl-quiet, reserved, and unhappy. Akilah spends the first half of the novel trying to figure out what happened to her friend. Victoria finally spills the truth: her family allowed a doctor to remove her clitoris so she would be a "clean and proper" Nigerian girl. Akilah is outraged, but keeps her friend's secret until her mother finds out by accident. Akilah's mother, also angered, screams at Victoria's mother and causes a rift between the two families. Williams-Garcia provides age-appropriate details without using anatomical terms and addresses some cultural issues and contradictions without overwhelming readers. Mostly the story focuses on the relationship between the two girls and Akilah's sometimes troubled bond with her mother. Because the story is told entirely from Akilah's point of view, the emotional impact of FMG is somewhat muted. However, readers with an interest in human rights and world issues may find the novel compelling, and it can also be appreciated as a story about friendship.-Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2004
Gr 5-8-The friendship between two fifth-grade girls is at the center of this powerful novel, which also deals with the issue of female genital mutilation (FMG). Akilah, a 10-year-old African-American girl from Queens, can't wait for her best friend, Victoria, to come home from a visit to her grandmother in Nigeria. The Victoria who returns home, however, seems like a very different girl-quiet, reserved, and unhappy. Akilah spends the first half of the novel trying to figure out what happened to her friend. Victoria finally spills the truth: her family allowed a doctor to remove her clitoris so she would be a "clean and proper" Nigerian girl. Akilah is outraged, but keeps her friend's secret until her mother finds out by accident. Akilah's mother, also angered, screams at Victoria's mother and causes a rift between the two families. Williams-Garcia provides age-appropriate details without using anatomical terms and addresses some cultural issues and contradictions without overwhelming readers. Mostly the story focuses on the relationship between the two girls and Akilah's sometimes troubled bond with her mother. Because the story is told entirely from Akilah's point of view, the emotional impact of FMG is somewhat muted. However, readers with an interest in human rights and world issues may find the novel compelling, and it can also be appreciated as a story about friendship.-Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2003
Gr. 4-8. Akilah can't wait to start fifth grade with her best friend, Victoria, who has been in Nigeria for the summer. But Victoria returns completely changed: withdrawn, physically unwell, and unable to laugh. A fifth-grade puberty film gives Victoria the words to tell Akilah what has happened to her: "I don't have what other girls have." Victoria has survived female circumcision, and Akilah is furious but sworn to secrecy, until her warm, supportive parents discover the truth and expose Victoria's family secret. Of the several recent novels about FGM (female genital mutilation), including Pat Collins' " The Fattening Hut "[BKL N 1 2003], for older readers, Williams-Garcia's story, written in Akilah's colloquial African American voice, is most successful. It combines a richly layered story with accurate, culturally specific information in language that's on-target for the audience, and the author tempers what could have been strident messages with interesting contrasts: Akilah's parents view FGM as an atrocity, even as they revere African culture; Akilah's aunt, who beats her children, raises questions about the forms of brutality ingrained in many families. Then there's Akilah herself, simultaneously confronted with her first menstrual period and the gravity of what has happened to her friend. Readers will have lots of questions for adults after reading this skillfully told, powerful story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2004
Akilah's best friend, Victoria, is spending the summer in Nigeria, where there will be a "special celebration to mark her coming-of-age." When Victoria returns home to Queens, something is wrong, and she finally tells Akilah what happened to her: a ritual clitoridectomy. Though Akilah is an engaging narrator, she sounds older than ten and several story elements strain credibility. But this will be an eye-opening book for most preteens.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)