The Girl with the Louding Voice

A Novel

By: Abi Daré

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

An instant New York Times best seller

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club pick!

"Brave, fresh...unforgettable." (The New York Times Book Review)

"A celebration of girls who dare to dream." (Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers, an Oprah’s Book Club pick)

Shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize and recommended by The New York Times, Marie Claire, Vogue, Essence, PopSugar, Daily Mail, Electric Literature, Red, Stylist, Daily Kos, Library Journal, The Everygirl, and Read It Forward!

The unforgettable, inspiring story of a teenage girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village who longs to get an education so that she can find her “louding voice” and speak up for herself, The Girl with the Louding Voice is a simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant tale about the power of fighting for your dreams. 

Despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in her path, Adunni never loses sight of her goal of escaping the life of poverty she was born into so that she can build the future she chooses for herself - and help other girls like her do the same. 

Her spirited determination to find joy and hope in even the most difficult circumstances imaginable will “break your heart and then put it back together again” (Jenna Bush Hager on The Today Show) even as Adunni shows us how one courageous young girl can inspire us all to reach for our dreams...and maybe even change the world.

©2020 Abi Daré (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Adunni’s brave, fresh voice powerfully articulates a resounding anger toward Africa’s toxic patriarchy.... Daré draws the reader in with a vivid character whose dire circumstances are contrasted with her natural creativity (she keeps her spirits up by composing comic songs imagining a fabulous future) and her undying will to survive.... Throughout her harrowing coming-of-age journey, told with verve and compassion, Adunni never loses the ‘louding voice’ that makes Daré’s story, and her protagonist, so unforgettable.” (The New York Times Book Review)

"[A] compelling debut." (Ms. Magazine, "Feminist Books Coming out in 2020")

"A heart-warming, enlightening novel... Through the moving story of a girl’s persistent struggle to acquire an education, The Girl with the Louding Voice brings deep, significant issues into focus." (BookPage)

A must HEAR!

Reading this book would be great, but it won’t do it justice. Listening to this story being told with the Nigerian accent and way of speaking is what gives this story LIFE! I cried, I smiled, and I was filled with joy.

Beautiful from beginning to end!

I don’t write reviews, but THIS is necessary. The performance is Oscar worthy. This story is beautiful and sad and powerful and necessary. I loved every minute of this, and was so sad when it ended. Do yourself a favor and listen to this book.

Narration enhances a beautiful important story!

One of the best audible books I have listened to! The story transports the reader to Nigeria, immerses you in a culture both rich and beautiful, as well as achingly sad and surprising in its treatment of women and girls. I learned Nigerian facts through the eyes and “louding” voice of one of the pluckiest and most persistent heroines I have read in a long time. The narration raises the story to another level, allowing the reader to really hear the sweet, but strong voice of courage. I was swept away and inspired by The Girl with the Louding Voice!

This book held my thoughts and attention for every second of listening to it. The reader was outstanding. The story very real❤️

This book held my attention and thoughts even when I had it turned it off. I found myself drawn into after the opening words were spoken. I now sit here wondering what is the future for this girl.

Loved it!

Enjoyed it as much as The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Highly recommended!

Painful story

I knew I would have trouble with this story as it is painful. I had the printed book but could not get into it so I bought the audiobook. I am glad I did. The narrator is fantastic. Since the book is written in dialect I was having trouble getting into it. Hearing it read improved it. I loved the cadence of the narrator's voice. I also loved the emphasis put on certain parts especially at the end. The singing was also good. Being able to read and listen at the same time enhanced the story.

I loved Adunni and Ms. Tia. Both work for the betterment of women's lives in Nigeria though in different ways. Adunni by not shutting her mouth when she has questions or feels she must be heard. Ms. Tia by helping Adunni get out of her current situation and, unfortunately, after experiencing what too many women go through because of superstitions, having her eyes opened to see where she can now help. This book is painful because it shows how devalued women are. It was hard to read because of that but it does end on a happy and hopeful note. Adunni's future looks bright as does Ms. Tia's. Worth the read and listen.

Engaging.

Very nice story line and very engaging. The narrator tried her best in narrating the story. My only complain is that it would have been better to have the story narrated by a Nigerian, than having a Ghanaian do so. Overall, very good work by Abi.

Outstanding book, outstanding narrator! Don’t miss

Those of us who use Audible do so for many reasons, but basically because of our love of reading. We love a good book! We love a good story. Let’s say, in the last year you have listened to somewhere around 50 books, and out of those perhaps twenty are five star books you wouldn’t mind listening to again someday. But out of those twenty, there may only be three that when you think of them, or hear their titles, or someone brings them up in conversation, the emotions instantly come to the surface, and it’s almost as if you had just finished the book after hearing the last chapter. You didn’t want to start another book because there is no way it would be “that good” and you would be let down! That is how it is with The Girl With the Louding Voice! You will instantly put it on your “favorites list” and you will do it with a lump of emotion in your throat.

This story of a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl with a desire to make something of herself, but who has the odds stacked so securely against her as to make schooling or any upward progress impossible simply because of her female-ness, is sadly still all too common in too many countries around the world. But when you read about Adunni’s relentless struggle, her indomitable hope, her kind and loving heart in spite of so many unloving things being done to her, your hope for the future will be renewed.

There are still good people in this world and those that help girls like Adunni are proof of that! Think of how this world might change if every one of us helped one person like her, a person of incalculable potential to, in turn, do incalculable good for others. At long last would we have world peace? It could happen!

This book is written in a strong Nigerian accent that is quite hard to understand, but the narrator is nothing less than spectacular, and will have you understanding it in no time.

Beautiful story and performance

I could not stop listening to the book. It is so beautifully written and the narrator pulls you in with her wonderful voice and performance. Highly recommended.

Everything is perfect.

I am truly so very happy this book exists. I cried, smiled, cried more, and I know I'll never forget Adunni and all the brilliant girls trying to find their own louding voices.