One afternoon in a town in Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious. Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, Vivek finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. But Vivek’s closest bond is with Osita, the worldly, high-spirited cousin whose teasing confidence masks a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens—and Osita struggles to understand Vivek’s escalating crisis—the mystery gives way to a heart-stopping act of violence in a moment of exhilarating freedom. 

This book had been on my TBR for a while, and it was a super quick read that I finished in an afternoon. The story itself was very heartbreaking, but also beautiful and powerful. The ending was not what I expected. The novel’s prose was very beautiful and helped illustrate the heartache of the story and characters. The book covers some sensitive subjects, including sexual identity and intolerance. I wouldn’t say the book necessarily feels like a mystery, even though the story does ultimately lead to the answer of how Vivek died. Some of the descriptions in this book got a little bit graphic, so I would recommend looking up trigger warnings if you are a more sensitive reader. I definitely recommend picking this up, but prepare to be sad once you finish! lol