Fiction/Non Fiction: Fiction
Themes: Female friendship, motherhood, relationships.
Pages: 384
One sentence summary: You have to read this.
Overview: Set in modern day London, Wahala follows the events and dramas between three mixed-race university friends. They are all living very different lives and are in very different stages of their relationships. Trouble begins in the form of a fourth member trying to squeeze into their close-knit friendship group.
Ronke, Boo and Simi lead different lives but share common Nigerian heritage and each have different feelings towards this. Each have taken their own paths after university and turn out to be three very different and complex women. Told from each's point of view, this is a thrilling story of female friendship.
Personal Thoughts: What a book! What a book, what a book, what a book. I adored this. I was absolutely glued to it.
I really love a book from multiple points of view and Wahala didn't dissapoint. While I adored Ronke and would love to be her friend (and try her cooking!), I still loved reading about Simi and Boo. There wasn't one character's chapter I wanted to skip and move past (which I've definitely done in other books.. whoops). What really stuck about about these three women to me was just how different they are. They have such different views on life, on their Nigerian heritage, on families, relationships and while they absolutely judged each other for that (mostly) behind closed doors, they still loved and respected eachother. I found that so relatable. We can be in such different places in our lives to our friends and would chose different choices for them given the choice, but we still love them as them.
Sometime's contemporary fictions aren't my cup of tea, they can be a bit.. bland? Lacking in plot or development perhaps. Wahala is absolutely not one of those books. I was hooked from the start and held my breath through those last 100 pages. That ending, just wow! If you like the drama, this is definitely one for you. Equally, if you love incredible and addictive writing or love reading books that feature London.
May's debut is absolutely not one to be missed and I can't wait to see what she brings out next.
Would I read it again? Absolutely, I'm keeping it on my bookshelf until it's been long enough that I can't quite remember the ending ;-)
Read this? Plan to read it? I'd love to know! Let me know in the comments below.
Available for purchase as an affiliate link through Bookshop.org here.
Footnote - I had the absolutely pleasure of meeting Nikki May when she did a signing at Bookbar in London. Incase you're the kind of reader that like to know what the author was like, she was just incredible and kind and I love her :-)