#102: Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta + Spring Clean Book Swap

Our April book selection is Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta. We will meet at the Hall Branch Library in Bronzeville. After the discussion, please stick around for our Spring Clean Book Swap! Clear out your bookshelves and grab a new-to-you book. Please bring at least one book by a Black author to give away or swap.

About the book: Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does. Born before independence, she is eleven when civil war breaks out in the young republic of Nigeria. Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child and they, star-crossed, fall in love. They are from different ethnic communities. They are also both girls. When their love is discovered, Ijeoma learns that she will have to hide this part of herself—and there is a cost to living inside a lie.

Inspired by Nigeria's folktales and its war, Under the Udala Trees is a deeply searching, powerful debut about the dangers of living and loving openly.

***Support Black Girls Read Chicago by purchasing Under the Udala Trees on Bookshop (affiliate link).