MADreads

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who dreams of finishing her education and becoming a teacher. And as she narrates her story in the colloquial English of her small village, you can feel how she yearns. Her mother wanted an education for her as it would be the only way for her to get a "louding voice". That louding voice was meant to arm her so that she could control her own destiny. But the death of her mother has left Adunni at the mercy of a spendthrift father who only sees in her a way to get money to pay the rent.

This is really an amazing book. It's easy to read as each chapter looks at a specific time period and specific food, but cumulatively there is a lot of information to absorb. The Western world does not come out looking all that good since, in their desire to benefit a few, they ran roughshod over the bodies of a lot of people all over the world. Not that the rest of the world have angelic histories, but because Western countries pride themselves on their culture and education and when looking at the details it doesn't look so swell.

Soap opera actress Jasmine Lin Rodriguez has landed a starring role alongside telenovela star Ashton Suarez in a bilingual Netflix-like series called Carmen in Charge. The show is important to Jasmine and Ashton for different reasons and they both desperately want it to be a success. For Jasmine, this is her first starring role. For Ashton, this is his chance to show that he's leading man material in a different entertainment market.

In a time not too far in the future in an America that seems all to scarily possible at times, half the population has been silenced. For fans who have binged through The Handmaid's Tale (and/or read the book) Vox can be your next dystopian read.