Book Review: Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko

Title: Daughters Who Walk This Path Author: Yejide Kilanko Genre: Fiction Publisher: Penguin Books Canada, Limited (2013) Pages: 352   Yejide Kilanko is a writer and a Certified Therapist in Children’s Mental Health. Her debut novel, ‘Daughters Who Walk This Path’ is a phenomenal book; a recommended read, I must add. Daughters Who Walk This Path is a fictional novel set in Ibadan, Oyo State. Morayo is the Protagonist of this heart-wrenching story and through the eyes of this young woman, Kilanko exposes her readers to what it means to be a growing woman in contemporary Nigerian society. The book opens with Morayo at the age of five welcoming her sister, Eniayo into the world. Being an albino, Eniayo is a victim of stigmatization and superstition, yet Morayo fights fiercely to protect her. Kilanko takes her readers on a journey, giving them the opportunity to grow with Morayo into her thirties. As she carries the readers on the interesting journey of an albino in the contemporary Nigerian society, she does not fail to point the torch at the humiliation that rape and abuse bestows upon a young woman. This book will bring any reader to the brink of tears, as the author uses her superb narrative skill to allow the reader share with Morayo the pain of cancer and what it can do to a family. Morayo’s resilience helps her survive every ordeal she faces as she learns to protect herself and her sister in a multifaceted society and a politically charged country.   About the Writer: Seyi Oluyole is a freelance writer and screenwriter. She is an avid reader, loves to dance and works with children.