Greetings, once again dear reader! 👋🏽
I hope you are doing well and taking good care of yourself.
Welcome to another edition of this spectacular newsletter.
Set mostly in Ibadan, Rekiya & Z tells the moving story of best friends—Rekiya and Zaynunah, who meet as teenagers in secondary school when Rekiya walks in on Z crying one afternoon and tells her that, “crying is a luxury affordable only if you have someone to console you.” Published in 2020, it’s the author’s third book.
When both girls met, neither of them knew that would be the start of a lifelong friendship. Z’s family accepted Rekiya and Z’s mum became very fond of her. Having rather turbulent and barely functional relationships with her own parents, Rekiya was grateful to belong somewhere.
At the beginning of the book, the two friends seem to have become strangers. It makes the reader want to find out what could have happened between these people who are described as “lifelong friends” in the book blurb. Narrated from first person perspective in both women’s voices, the reader gets a balanced view of each situation and how each person is dealing with it.
Although the book explores rather heavy topics such as grief, loss, the fickleness of life, living with trauma and depression, and healing, it slowly eases the reader into them. It is not heavy from the jump and that makes it a great read.
The book is mainly centered on the sometimes, complex nature of female relationships. With Rekiya and her mum, we see a barely functional interaction while with Zaynunah and her mum, we see a relationship of unabashed love…and an affection for Rekiya in a manner that only a mother can exhibit.
With Rekiya and Z, however, it’s one that moves from total reliance on each other, to utter silence, to rebuilding and redefining what friendship means for them as adults. From reconciliation between old friends to making new ones, the author touches everything in-between. We also see both women evolve as individuals.
Shared grief brings them back together after so many years and gives them the opportunity to rebuild their severed relationship. In the wake of certain events, Rekiya developed coping mechanisms that didn’t involve her adoptive family and Z felt unseen and rejected, but the loss they are mourning is a bridge for them.
A part of this friendship story that stood out to me is the importance of giving grace to our friends, should they ever pull away, and leaving room for them if they want to come back. As with Rekiya, life sometimes throws some rather harsh curve balls and it can be difficult for people to open up about them. This affects relationships in more ways than one but it’s important to never give up.
It is such a well-written book. You can tell when an author has poured themselves into a book and this is one of such. I certainly did not see the end coming and I genuinely wonder why authors do such things but nonetheless, it is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Kindly leave a comment.
If you read this book after reading this review, do come back and share 😊