#9: Shine Shine Baby

A review of Oyinkan Braithwaite's Treasure

Greetings! 👋🏽

I hope you are doing well and taking good care of yourself.

Welcome to another edition of The Reader’s Perspective newsletter.

I have been reading short stories this month because my attention span took a hit. This book is my fifth one so far and while I’m enjoying the thrill of checking books off my list for the year, I often find myself wondering what happened to the characters. The brevity of the stories does not always offer me the closure I need to move on but I digress…not.

Treasure is the second book in the Hush Collection, which features 6 thrilling stories, where deception is a matter of life or death. It tells the story of a wannabe influencer in Lagos, who shows off a luxurious lifestyle on Instagram and how one slip costs her all her hard work. It was published in 2020 and it’s the author’s second book.

Treasure scrolls through scores of pictures on her phone to find the perfect one to post and watches the likes and messages pour in...until it’s time for the next post. She has Patience, her trusted photographer to take as many pictures as necessary. 5K followers by the end of the year is the goal and she must stay focused.

@Sho4sure, a fan who checks her page several times a day, is convinced that it’s his destiny to meet and marry Treasure. Her pictures and their DMs are no longer enough for him and he must find her so they can start their life together.

“But you don’t even know these people”
“I don’t need to know them—they are my fans.”
“Why?”
“Because I am living the life they want to live.”

This dark short story touches on the difference (sometimes, stark) between the perfection of the invented life that’s portrayed on social media and everyday life, the divide created by class, and the risks of oversharing.

I like how the book gradually progresses to reveal the true identity of the characters. I doff my hat for the author; she has a way of pacing the story and when you think you know where it’s going, the plot thickens and twists in a way you couldn’t have imagined.

One day, Treasure mistakenly posts a picture with her location and @Sho4Sure sees it before she deletes it. He is sure that’s his sign to “surprise” her and enlists Sammy, his 11-year-old neighbour as his ally on his mission to find his bride.

Together, they come up with a plan to bypass security into her estate and find the house he had seen in her pictures. There’s a hiccup along the way but they make it and pretend to be workmen to gain access to the house.

Soon after, Sammy blurts out the motive of their visit and @Sho4Sure asks to see her father. Treasure is confused and everything she says to get them to leave falls on deaf ears. They even get comfortable and ask for food. In her panic, she decides to get them drunk.

The house dog comes to say hello and everything spirals. The “little” stalking incident has gone wrong and now there’s so much more than any of them bargained for.

Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Leave a comment, maybe? 😉

If you read this book after reading this review, do come back and share 😊

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