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A review by the_magpie_reader
My Name is Tani: The Amazing True Story of One Boy's Journey from Refugee to Chess Champion by Kayide Adewumi, Oluwatoyin Adewumi, Craig Borlase, Tanitoluwa Adewumi
5.0
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in September 2020.
"My Name is Tani" by Tanitoluwa Adewumi is the heart-warming true story of a refugee boy from Nigeria who joins the chess program in his school and less than a year later ends up winning the chess championship. In doing so, he also earns a scholarship for himself and a brand new start in life for his whole family.
It's just like one of those feel-good movies that are out in the cinemas every Christmas, only Tani's story is real and it had started off as distant as possible from a feel-good Christmas movie: Tani and his family had to flee their country to escape the persecution by Boko Haram, leaving a whole life behind in order to survive. Both Tani and his mother and father share their memories and emotions about this painful choice-without-a-choice, and this part of the book is truly heart-breaking, especially the chapters narrated from Tani's POV, with all innocent obliviousness of a 6-year-old boy.
The only thing I felt was missing, was the point of view of the fourth member of the family, Tani's older brother, who is the only one who for some reason doesn't get his own chapters in the book. I would have loved to learn his particular take on the events related.
However, this story is not a tragedy or a tear-jerker (or not so much of it): it's really a story about new beginnings, second chances and good people helping each other. It's about the American dream, and for once, it's all true. A true story with a happy ending, how often do we get one of those?
I recommend reading this book to every right-wing extremist who is in favour of raising walls, strengthening borders and banning human beings based on their nationality. They should all read this book and learn something new. I also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys happy endings. Basically, I recommend this book to everyone at all, because we all need some uplifting story every once in a while.
"My Name is Tani" by Tanitoluwa Adewumi is the heart-warming true story of a refugee boy from Nigeria who joins the chess program in his school and less than a year later ends up winning the chess championship. In doing so, he also earns a scholarship for himself and a brand new start in life for his whole family.
It's just like one of those feel-good movies that are out in the cinemas every Christmas, only Tani's story is real and it had started off as distant as possible from a feel-good Christmas movie: Tani and his family had to flee their country to escape the persecution by Boko Haram, leaving a whole life behind in order to survive. Both Tani and his mother and father share their memories and emotions about this painful choice-without-a-choice, and this part of the book is truly heart-breaking, especially the chapters narrated from Tani's POV, with all innocent obliviousness of a 6-year-old boy.
The only thing I felt was missing, was the point of view of the fourth member of the family, Tani's older brother, who is the only one who for some reason doesn't get his own chapters in the book. I would have loved to learn his particular take on the events related.
However, this story is not a tragedy or a tear-jerker (or not so much of it): it's really a story about new beginnings, second chances and good people helping each other. It's about the American dream, and for once, it's all true. A true story with a happy ending, how often do we get one of those?
I recommend reading this book to every right-wing extremist who is in favour of raising walls, strengthening borders and banning human beings based on their nationality. They should all read this book and learn something new. I also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys happy endings. Basically, I recommend this book to everyone at all, because we all need some uplifting story every once in a while.