This is a unique and interesting read I highly recommend. Actually good for all ages. This would make a great gift for someone.

What a gem of a read!!! Read this short story in one reading. Very good look at bullying and the emergence of a mystical woman who offers help but at a price. Nice story of a family and all that they endured. There are many elements at play in this book and that is what makes it such a joy to read. The author does an excellent job in presenting the story. I loved this book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not affect my opinion of this book nor my review.

May Contain Spoilers

Tonight I had the pleasure of reading one of the most glorious and entertaining stories of the month thus far. It was stupendous to say the least and full of rich history. If African American literature interests you then this is one you should absolutely add to your “To Be Read Lists.”

Dr. Zeena Nackerdien weaves this story together masterfully and I enjoy how all the characters come together. The story is mainly about Ola Jr. (female) and her children. She and her family come from the homeland of my ancestors Nigeria. She grew up in a good home with her mother Ola and her father Abram. He loved her dearly but she like most youths caved in to pressure of hormones and lust. Her first tryst she ended up pregnant by the man and had twins, a girl Nawaal and a boy Bilal. During this same time her mother also fell sick.

Ola Jr.’s father was a strict but loving and caring man that only wanted the best for his family and worked hard to provide for them. Nawaal and Bilal having grown up around Nigerians even here in the U.S. they developed accents and were tortured mercilessly in school for being different, like many of the kids today are for the same reason or another. So Ola being the loving and caring mother she is she called upon the Goddess Abekepi and her magical flute. She got rid of all the bad apples. Just by playing a tune and walking through the streets.

Not only is the story great but it is filled with quotes and other interesting media that you might find interesting. I will not give any here as you may be tempted to not buy the book and just take my review since I have given a lot of details. You will not be disappointed and will love it from start to finish. It is a short read but you will definitely love it.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy for review purposes. The opinions above are my own and are truthful and honest.

Just a short story, supernatural subject.
A story about a Nigerian family leaving in fictional Harlem neighborhood.
Thank you NetGalley for the free advance copy!

Title: The African Piper of Harlem
Author: Zeena Nackerdien
Publisher: CreateSpace
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"The African Piper of Harlem" by Zeena Nackerdien

My Thoughts.....

"This book steps through the looking glass to a fictional Harlem neighborhood and follows the lives of a Nigerian family."

What a great tale with a interesting ending as it was for Ola and her two children Bilal and Nawaal who were twins who lived in Harlem, NY. We find Ola was from Nigeria and who had recently lost her mother. Now Ola had only her father Abram who was their to help her with her children because their father wasn't around due to the fact her was in jail. As the children grew older Ola found that they had received quite a bit of bulling from their classmates and being at her wits end, she turns to her father and they pray for help and it came.

From "out of nowhere, a mysterious figure appears by the name of Abekepi as this fantastic piper offers to rid the neighborhood of bullies for a crazy reward...For one million dollars or a hundred placentas!" Now, this story will be a very interesting tale that will keep you turning the pages to see what will comes next for Ola, her children, her father and by the end the reader will get 'a bit of magical realism that will come from seeing everything set right.' In the end the reader will see how "an intriguing, and sometimes unsettling, weaving of social themes, in which a supernatural being intervenes to turn the struggles of a single mother and her twins into triumph." The story's ending was indeed beautiful in that the twins got to meet a special person who had not been in their life's.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced e copy.

A quick supernatural tale with a happy ending. This is really a short story(50 Pages) that features Ola a young mother of twins, and her struggle to raise them as solid citizens in Harlem, NY. Ola has come from Nigeria and lost her mother to cancer, so just Ola and her father remain in NY. Ola’s father Abram tries to help with the children and keep them on the straight and narrow. The children’s father has been locked up, so was unable to lend much help.

When Ola is at her wits end with the children, and dealing with the bullying they receive from schoolmates she turns to her father and they pray for a miracle,

“Three hours they sat in council. Her father listened to the girl who had broken his heart by falling pregnant with twins at the age of sixteen. At last, he broke his silence: ‘Upon the grave of your mother –may she dwell in peace with our ancestors –I am racking my brain so much that it is giving me a headache.’”

Abekepi, is the answer. When she knocks on the door of Abram’s apartment, not only will the lives of Ola’s children change but indeed all of Harlem may never be the same. A modern twist on the pied piper story with an ode to literary figures Achebe and Baldwin. A tale about relating to the times that one is living in while honoring the past that has always supported and carried one to the present. A bit of magical realism that achieves the goal of setting things right. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookbuzz.net for an advanced ecopy. September 15 is the official release date.