by Rita Williams-Garcia, Coretta Scott King Honor Author

Grade 5-8--The friendship between two fifth-grade girls is at the center of this powerful novel, which also deals with the issue of female genital mutilation (FMG). Akilah, a 10-year-old African-American girl from Queens, can't wait for her best friend, Victoria, to come home from a visit to her grandmother in Nigeria. The Victoria who returns home, however, seems like a very different girl--quiet, reserved, and unhappy. Akilah spends the first half of the novel trying to figure out what happened to her friend. Victoria finally spills the truth: her family allowed a doctor to remove her clitoris so she would be a "clean and proper" Nigerian girl. Akilah is outraged, but keeps her friend's secret until her mother finds out by accident. Akilah's mother, also angered, screams at Victoria's mother and causes a rift between the two families. Williams-Garcia provides age-appropriate details without using anatomical terms and addresses some cultural issues and contradictions without overwhelming readers. Mostly the story focuses on the relationship between the two girls and Akilah's sometimes troubled bond with her mother. Because the story is told entirely from Akilah's point of view, the emotional impact of FMG is somewhat muted. However, readers with an interest in human rights and world issues may find the novel compelling, and it can also be appreciated as a story about friendship.--Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library