Nightbloom - Peace Adzo Medie

"Nighbloom" is a story of two cousins who are born on the same day in 1985—Selasi at the regional hospital in Ho and Akorfa at the '37 Military Hospital' in Accra. Their fathers, being first cousins and close friends, move to the same estate. Here, their mothers form a friendship that results in their daughters spending most of their days together. The story is told in two parts: first by Akorfa and then by Selasi.

The girls spend the first part of their lives as best friends and sisters. Akorfa is book-smart, shy, and cautious, whereas Selasi, like her mother, is fun, loud, and brave. Despite their differences, they form a tight bond with each other, creating their own 'iridescent world within this sometimes gray one.'

But life happens, and Selasi loses her mother during childbirth, starting a string of troubles and rejections. As a result, her newborn brother is taken far away, while her father remarries and sends her to live with her grandmother. Despite the distance, Selasi and Akorfa try to maintain their bond.

Later, after the death of Selasi's grandmother, she moves in with Akorfa's family, reuniting them. Their love is tested as they see new sides of each other and the differences in their worlds. However, their bond does not withstand the test of time, and they part ways when Selasi leaves the home, never to return.

Years later, life's circumstances bring the girls together again. Both feel wronged and believe they deserve an explanation from the other. However, having these discussions means confronting parts of themselves they have hidden for years—parts that could unravel all the efforts they've made to escape their pain. Yet, these conversations seem necessary for them to move past their pain and prevent history from repeating itself.

I found the novel to be very engaging and fast-paced. Peace Adzo knows how to keep her readers engaged. While the story is almost repeated as we get the girls' different perspectives on the same events, it works because we learn new things at every turn. The story successfully shows how the same events can be viewed differently and how our perceptions are often not the reality or the final objective truth.