An Ordinary Wonder: Heartbreaking and charming coming-of-age fiction about love, loss and taking chances
Buki Papillon
Mar 2021 · Dialogue Books · Narrated by Adjoa Andoh
5.0star
1 reviewreport
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Audiobook
12 hr 51 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'OMG!!! This has to be my best book of the year!... Made me laugh and it made me cry!... So heartbreaking but inspiring at the same time. Loved it!' Goodreads Reviewer
A powerful novel about an intersex Nigerian teenager and the courage to be yourself.
Narrated by Adjoa Andoh whose many film and TV roles include Doctor Who, Adulthood and most recently Lady Danbury in the Netflix drama Bridgerton. Adjoa directed and starred in Richard II, the first ever company of women of colour in a Shakespeare play on a major UK stage.
Raised as a boy in a grand but unhappy family in Nigeria, Otolorin Akinro escapes to boarding school knowing two things: she is truly a girl, and to stay safe, she must hide that truth.
Away from the cruelty of her childhood home, Oto blooms even as she strives to be the best boy she can, finding true friendship and working hard to earn a scholarship to an American university, hoping someone out there might help her understand the secrets her body holds.
But she cannot stay away forever. Back home for the holidays, though Oto and her beloved twin sister are overjoyed to see each other, their mother's violence erupts once more and when a terrible incident rips their lives apart, Oto is left alone.
As her world goes up in flames, can Otolorin rebuild a life from the ashes of her true self?
You won't be able to stop listening to this heartbreaking and uplifting coming-of-age story about family, identity, gender and culture and discovering your whole, true self. If you loved The Vanishing Half, The Girl with the Louding Voice or The Death of Vivek Oji, you'll adore this moving book.
What listeners are saying about An Ordinary Wonder:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'WOW!!!! I absolutely LOVED this book... A powerful, engrossing, sad, but also joyous book. I could not stop listening and reading once I started it.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This story was so sad!!!... Just broke my heart.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'One of the best, most beautiful and most incredible books I've ever read in my entire life.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I thought I was going to make it all the way through to end of this book without crying. Turns out, I was very wrong... After the tears, you're cheering with the characters all the way to the end.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Wow! This book is so totally awesome!... An amazing story.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Moved me to tears but also filled me with hope. An emotional, heartbreaking read, with a plot that kept me gripped and stunning writing. I'm still thinking about this book months after reading it.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Brilliant... The tension builds up and honestly the author squeezed every emotion out of me!' Reader review
A powerful novel about an intersex Nigerian teenager and the courage to be yourself.
Narrated by Adjoa Andoh whose many film and TV roles include Doctor Who, Adulthood and most recently Lady Danbury in the Netflix drama Bridgerton. Adjoa directed and starred in Richard II, the first ever company of women of colour in a Shakespeare play on a major UK stage.
Raised as a boy in a grand but unhappy family in Nigeria, Otolorin Akinro escapes to boarding school knowing two things: she is truly a girl, and to stay safe, she must hide that truth.
Away from the cruelty of her childhood home, Oto blooms even as she strives to be the best boy she can, finding true friendship and working hard to earn a scholarship to an American university, hoping someone out there might help her understand the secrets her body holds.
But she cannot stay away forever. Back home for the holidays, though Oto and her beloved twin sister are overjoyed to see each other, their mother's violence erupts once more and when a terrible incident rips their lives apart, Oto is left alone.
As her world goes up in flames, can Otolorin rebuild a life from the ashes of her true self?
You won't be able to stop listening to this heartbreaking and uplifting coming-of-age story about family, identity, gender and culture and discovering your whole, true self. If you loved The Vanishing Half, The Girl with the Louding Voice or The Death of Vivek Oji, you'll adore this moving book.
What listeners are saying about An Ordinary Wonder:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'WOW!!!! I absolutely LOVED this book... A powerful, engrossing, sad, but also joyous book. I could not stop listening and reading once I started it.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This story was so sad!!!... Just broke my heart.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'One of the best, most beautiful and most incredible books I've ever read in my entire life.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I thought I was going to make it all the way through to end of this book without crying. Turns out, I was very wrong... After the tears, you're cheering with the characters all the way to the end.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Wow! This book is so totally awesome!... An amazing story.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Moved me to tears but also filled me with hope. An emotional, heartbreaking read, with a plot that kept me gripped and stunning writing. I'm still thinking about this book months after reading it.' Goodreads Reviewer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Brilliant... The tension builds up and honestly the author squeezed every emotion out of me!' Reader review
Ratings and reviews
5.0
1 review
About the author
Buki Papillon was born in Nigeria, the oldest of six. After studying law at Hull University in the UK, she completed an MFA in Creative Writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An Ordinary Wonder, her debut novel, has received glowing reviews and mentions in the The New York Times, Ms. Magazine, Essence and Cosmopolitan UK, and is brilliantly narrated in audiobook by Bridgerton actor, Adjoa Andoh.
Buki has received several fellowships and awards for her writing and is an alumnus of Key West Literary, Vermont Studio Center and Vona Voices residencies and workshops. Her work was published in Post Road Magazine and The Del Sol Review. She has in the past been a travel adviser, events host and chef. Buki currently lives in Boston, where she is resigned to finding inspiration in the long winters.
Buki has received several fellowships and awards for her writing and is an alumnus of Key West Literary, Vermont Studio Center and Vona Voices residencies and workshops. Her work was published in Post Road Magazine and The Del Sol Review. She has in the past been a travel adviser, events host and chef. Buki currently lives in Boston, where she is resigned to finding inspiration in the long winters.
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