Summary:
Born in a House of Glass is a haunting, deeply lyrical novel that blurs the line between reality and memory, body and spirit, past and present. It follows Leah, a young Nigerian American woman navigating a world where her trauma takes on physical form. Leah's world is not linear. It's shattering. And the shards—of girlhood, grief, race, faith, mental illness, and silence—cut deep.

Emezie’s prose doesn’t ask for permission. It demands your attention. Through Leah, we are asked: What does it mean to survive a trauma that’s not yet done with you? What does it mean to come of age when your body is the site of a war?

What Worked:

🔹 Poetic Prose as Power and Mirror
This book reads like a scream caught in a prayer. Emezie writes in fragments—intentionally disjointed, almost musical—capturing how trauma breaks language. Some pages feel like scripture, others like spells. Every word is intentional. It reminded me of the way Beloved or Girl, Woman, Other plays with form to tell the unspeakable.

🔹 Mental Illness and Spirituality Intertwined
Leah’s journey includes hallucinations, breakdowns, dissociation—but also visions, prophecy, and a connection to something beyond. Emezie refuses the Western binary of “crazy or not.” Instead, the novel holds space for ancestral knowing, divine madness, and the way Black girls are often pathologized for simply feeling too much.

🔹 The Fragility of Family and Faith
The “house of glass” is literal and metaphorical. It’s the fragile family Leah is born into. It’s the religious rules she’s meant to live under. It’s the way her pain becomes invisible and hyper-visible. It’s how Black girls are asked to be vessels—for pain, for protection, for perfection.

🔹 A Deeply Black Feminine Lens
There are echoes of Toni Morrison, Akwaeke Emezi, and Ntozake Shange here—but Chinenye Emezie’s voice is wholly her own. The story lives in the particular experience of a Black girl shaped by Nigerian tradition, American racism, and the secret violence no one wants to name.

What Could Be Stronger:

🔸 It’s Not for the Plot Girls™
If you need a linear story arc or a satisfying climax, this may not be your jam. The book is fragmented and often surreal. It’s not about solving a mystery; it is the mystery. That said, for those who read for feeling rather than just plot, it hits hard.

🔸 Emotional Intensity is Relentless
There are very few moments of levity or rest. Some readers may feel overwhelmed by the sheer emotional weight of the narrative—but that’s also the point. This is not a trauma about story—it’s trauma as storytelling itself.

Big Themes & Takeaways:

✨ Survival as Sacred: This isn’t a #healing journey that ends in a TED Talk. This is survival as ritual. Pain as inheritance. And the question of whether wholeness is even possible—or necessary.

✨ The Language of the Silenced: Leah’s voice is fractured, but never weak. The way she pieces together her identity, despite silence, gaslighting, and erasure, feels like an act of rebellion.

✨ Seeing and Being Seen: The novel interrogates who gets to be looked at, whose pain is palatable, and what it means to live in a body that others project their fears onto.

Favorite Quotes (No spoilers):

“I was born in a house made of glass, where the light could see everything but the truth.”

“Sometimes the body remembers what the mouth has been told to forget.”

“I used to think I was broken. Now I think I was rearranged.”

Final Thoughts:
Born in a House of Glass is not easy reading—but it is necessary reading. It’s the kind of novel that lingers in your bloodstream. It’s not about healing in the traditional sense, but about what it means to live when healing is an open-ended question. Emezie has given us a book that refuses containment, refuses erasure, and refuses silence.

This is a novel for Black women who have ever been told to hold their tongues, hide their pain, or polish their stories for the comfort of others. It’s for anyone who’s had to gather the pieces of themselves and still dare to shine.

Rating: 4.75/5
Content Warnings: Sexual trauma, mental illness, hospitalization, religious abuse, dissociation, suicidal ideation
Age Range: Adult (but could resonate with older YA readers)

DNF- I wanted to like this story but unfortunately I found myself skimming through and I lost focus too often.

Thank you, Dundurn Press and Netgalley, for providing a copy of this book.

This novel took me on quite the unexpected journey. While the title is very applicable to the story within, I was still caught off-guard. There were so many things we learned about Udonwa and her family within these pages that left me shocked, sad, and flabbergasted. At the heart of the story is a young lady that we follow from childhood through her early adulthood years and experience her rude awakening into the realities of her family dynamic. What happens when the innocence of childhood is removed and you are unexpectedly shoved into a trauma response? How do you cope when the people you once loved and adored are made to fully bear their horrible sins in your presence? How do you cope when you reside in a society that views the sins of your family as a pronouncment of the depravity of your character? For Udo, all of these things cause a spiral away from her Christian upbringing and an uncertainty of her own identity.

This was a much heavier read than I expected, but the story kept me enthralled all the way through. Please check for trigger warnings before starting this one.

Wow, this was my first book by this author and I would for sure read more. I enjoyed the discovery and growth of the main character, I also enjoyed the educational components as well.

This was a beautiful narrative, but heads up not a particularly happy one. Udonwa was born into instability and struggle among family members, some of whom have caused irrevocable hurt to one another. As she grows and gains more global experience, she discovers terrible secrets that challenge her outlook on life and identity. She is a potent character with a desire to be free of her past. She's someone you want to cheer for, even if her path to peace isn't all sunshine and rainbows. The story has decidedly dark moments and can feel a bit gritty. As you would normally expect from books about family secrets. Our FMC is not perfect and at times isn’t even likable, but that is also realistic. It’s definitely a story you sit with and ponder.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher, and I will admit that I initially put off reading it. It sounded good but a bit dark when I chose to download the file, and then the darkness wasn't something I was in the mood for. But then I actually read the book. Yes, it has decidedly darker moments and can get a bit gritty, as books about family secrets often do. Udonwa is not flawless, and sometimes she isn’t all that likeable. On balance, however, I found this book hard to put down and ultimately a positive read. A book club that likes to take on weighty subjects will find plenty to discuss.

This was my first time reading Chinenye Emezie, and I received Born in a House of Glass as an ARC from NetGalley. The novel presents a deeply emotional and unsettling narrative that delves into the complexities of family dynamics and personal growth. Born in a House of Glass is a powerful family saga set in Nigeria. The story follows Udonwa, a young girl who idolizes her father, Reverend Leonard Ilechukwu, despite his abusive behavior towards her mother and siblings. As Udonwa grows older, she is taken away by her eldest sister to escape the violence at home. However, she soon discovers even more disturbing family secrets that shatter her perception of her father and her own identity. The novel explores themes of familial loyalty, trauma, and the struggle for personal freedom. The character development is one of the book's strongest aspects. Udonwa's journey from a naive child who adores her father to a young woman grappling with the harsh realities of her family's past is compelling and heart-wrenching. Emezie skillfully portrays Udonwa's internal conflicts and her gradual transformation as she uncovers the truth about her family. The plot is engaging, with several twists and turns that keep the reader invested. The revelations about Udonwa's father and the family's dark secrets add layers of intrigue and emotional depth to the story. The setting in Nigeria, with its cultural and social nuances, enhances the narrative and provides a vivid backdrop for the characters' struggles. Overall, Born in a House of Glass is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel. Despite its heavy themes, it offers a message of resilience and hope. Chinenye Emezie's storytelling shows great promise, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. #netgalley #borninahouseofglass

#BorninaHouseofGlass

Thank you to #NetGalley for the e-arc.

The beginning was gripping - we see an abusive father who also seems to have a soft side for his youngest children, especially the youngest one, the main character Udonwa. Udonwa, as a young child, has trouble recounciling the abuse he dishes out to other members of the family and the care he seems to give to her. Having mixed feelings about a parent because you see both his abuse and his nicer side is something I relate to strongly. I became invested the family and was curious to see how Udonwa would recouncil these feelings as she grows up.

Unfortunately, the book went downhill for me from there and at various points I almost wanted to DNF. I did end up reading through the whole thing. I do not think I hate the book, but I am truly not a fan, either.

To avoid spoilers, I will say that I did not find the character development of Udonwa convincing and I cared about her less and less as a character, even though I was still invested in the family's journey towards healing and often found their interactions funny and heartwarming.

I loved the way the siblings reconnect, open up and become more honest with each other as they grow up and the way one or multiple members in the family - sometimes a sibling, sometimes an aunt - are there for each other, even if they don't always know the best thing to do. I loved the author's writing of the mundane and the daily things.

The main character's unconvincing development and the way the impact of The Family Secret being revealed was handled made reading the later part of the book a very frustrating experience.

There are multiple sensitive topics in this book that, in my opinion, are not handled with as much care or nuance as they deserve, such as <spoiler>a false rape allegation and abortion.</spoiler> I was also disappointed in my hope to see Udonwa addressing her complicated feelings abour her father, since <spoiler>we later learn that the father has committed so many unspeakble crimes that he was no longer a person, more like evil manifestation - though I don't deny that such people exist in real life. There was simply no point in wrestling with love and hate - there is no reason to not hate this man.</spoiler>

I hope the actual book will have a page for content warnings.

I wish I didn't push myself to finish the book as it was clearly not for me. I regret that I am leaving a lukewarm review. I hope it will find its readership.

For a list of (non exhaustive) content warnings I came up with, please refer to my review on storygraph:
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/336fdbfd-0403-4c96-8d3d-ba15cf68c9b3

4.5 ⭐️’s

My review in point form 😃:
-very difficult topics introduced
-confused up until the last part
-not your typical romance but more realistic and stronger
-all the truths came out at the end but i had no forewarning of them in the beginning (if i hadn’t read the Forward)
-made me want to analyze my own relationship with my parents and see where I might be holding them on a higher pedestal then needed
-enjoyed the Nigerian speech and banter

Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for the Advanced copy of this book.

“Born in a House of Glass” by Chinenye Emezie is a compelling and deeply emotional family saga that delves into the complexities of familial relationships and personal growth. The story is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. The writing is writing is vivid and evocative.

Overall, “Born in a House of Glass” is a powerful and thought-provoking read that will resonate with anyone who has experienced the complexities of family relationships.

This was a wonderfully beautiful narrative, but beauty does not imply happiness. Udonwa was born into instability and secret struggle among family members, some of whom have caused irrevocable injury to one another. As she grows older and gains more global experience, she discovers terrible secrets that challenge her outlook of reality and identity. She is a potent, genuine character with both good and bad moments and a desire to get free of her scarred past. She's someone you want to cheer for, even if her path to peace isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Thank you for the great read, NetGalley and publisher

A very tough read for me. Lots of trauma. Such a hard read. I felt so sad reading this but I made it through and I’m glad I did.

A tough read. This is Udonwa;s story- the story of a young woman in Nigeria who is dealing with abuse and trauma and coming into her own. I'll be honest and say that this is not necessarily an enjoyable read but it's one where you won't, shouldn't turn away. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a story about a young girl and the trauma she deals with in her family. I unfortunately had to dnf it as some of the topics were too dark and heavy for me but maybe some people will enjoy this tale of overcoming trauma.

thank you @netgalley and @dundurnpress for the review copy! Born in a House of Glass comes out on August 13th!

cw: incest, child rape and sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, homophobia, abortion

a contemporary fiction novel written by a Nigerian author, that explores a young woman’s coming-of-age, of finding herself once she truly begins to confront long buried family secrets. this is for the book lovers who enjoy fast-paced, plot heavy reads with straightforward language

for me, it didn’t hit as hard as it could have - I love the idea of the plot and what this novel represents, but the lack of descriptive language left it feeling flat for me. i didn’t feel emotionally connected to the characters or the plot, even though very heavy topics are explored

"Born in a House of Glass" captivated me completely. It's a powerful and uplifting journey of a girl from Nigeria navigating her path into womanhood, revealing the impact of lies and shattered truths on her world. Udonwa's story is beautifully written, drawing you in with every emotional twist. I highly recommend this exceptional read.

This book is about a young Nigerian girl uncovering dark family secrets. The story is well-developed and explores difficult themes of family conflict and abuse. It's not a easy read but I highly recommend. The book is engaging and highlight survival, personal growth, and complex family dynamics. However, I felt I couldn't strongly connect with the main character despite all her struggles.

Not what I was expecting at all. Something happens in the book that I am not 100% comfortable with. Idk. I will try out the author again in the future but this one had me taken aback a bit.

TW: Sexual assault, rape, incest, domestic violence, homophobia, sex addiction, pedophilia

In this story we meet Udonwa, the youngest of 5 siblings living with her parents in a small village in Nigeria. We follow Udonwa as she gets older, moves away from home to her oldest sister’s home, away to Lagos for University, and into adulthood as she processes the trauma and dark secrets hiding in her family. Udonwa chooses a career, finds love, and grows into herself.

Proceed with caution - this was NOT a light read, and there was a lot of heavy stuff that was lightly glossed over in comparison to other topics… by the end I felt mentally exhausted.

Otherwise the writing was ok, there was not much description, and it was sometimes tricky to keep track of side characters. By the end of the book I still didn’t feel like I knew Udonwa very well. The plot jumped around a bit and it was hard to follow whether we’d jumped ahead in time or not. Finally, I was not satisfied with the ending - I kept flipping thinking there was a final chapter but that’s it, it just ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the ARC.

I think this book needs a better trigger warning at the beginning. There was some very uncomfortable and tough things that happened that I wasn’t quite expecting or ready for.

The storyline seemed a bit jumpy for me. We jump up years in the story in the very next paragraph. I wish things would’ve have been tied together better sooner. I didn’t really start getting into the book until I was over 60% finished and then that was when all the things started tying up. It got better and it made more sense. It just took a while.