WHERE SLEEPING GIRLS LIE

Author: Faridah Abike-Iyimide

Publisher: Usborne Publishing Limited

Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is epic, even the author admits this calling it a monster of a book, with over 500 pages! Faridah Abike-Iyimide wrote the book over the course of three years during the difficult time of Covid-19 when loss and grief were everywhere. The author lost several family members in the pandemic. As sombre and discouraging as this might sound – don’t be alarmed. The book is spellbinding. I was sucked into the drama from the get-go and couldn’t put it down until the last page.

The story, based in the UK, is that of Sade Hussein, an orphan. Home-schooled all her life, before her father’s sudden death a month ago, entering the gates of Alfred Nobel Academy as a new student is finally more than a dream come true. It is freedom. Freedom to start anew and make friends. Even though she’s used to luxury, the esteemed boarding school is something else. She’s in wonder. The school is surrounded by a lot of forest with beautiful buildings, evenly cut grass, perfectly trimmed rosebushes, and an aquarium among other grand fascinations. For Sade though – even being in this seemingly majestic place guarantees no reprieve from being haunted. Not only is she troubled by nightmares and ghostly figures, but she seems to attract tragedy like a moth to flame.

The horror begins when her roommate Elizabeth, goes missing on Sade’s first night at school. Sade is suddenly thrown into the limelight, in a bad way as accused number one. Matters only worsen when a student is found dead.

Full of twists and turns, my curiosity about what happened next in the book was at an all-time high throughout. There are plenty of unlikeable characters and the story moves from character to character seamlessly. The author addresses societal issues in a very imaginative way. She has great insights into the lives and struggles of young adults evident by the praises for her debut bestselling novel, Ace of Spades. On writing Where Sleeping Girls Lie, the author says, “I write to young girls who feel so much anger and need desperately someone or something to tell them their rage is important, and that the capacity to heal from deep wounds is not all impossible.”

I for one know that to be the absolute truth as I have personally experienced and witnessed the devastating extensive effect of fear, violence and isolation – so many thanks to the author for this book.