THE BEAUTY of LOOKING AWAY by CHIMBUSONMA OBIAGWU

The Beauty of Looking Away, a book by Chimbusonma Obiagwu, is a supernatural thriller that deals with such themes as strength, courage, good and evil.

In the opening chapter of the book, readers are introduced to Ugonna Aku, a reserved, introspective teenager with relatively well-to-do parents and a bubbly best friend named Faith.

Ugonna’s life seems to be like that of any normal teenager until the day she overhears a heated conversation between her parents and her life is changed forever. 

As events unfold, it becomes clear that something is dreadfully wrong and only as Ugonna begins to have nightmares and dead bodies start piling up does she realise that the survival of everyone dear to her depends on her strength and courage. The question is: does she have what it takes to survive and succeed?

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK

Hmm…

The Beauty of Looking Away is suspenseful, intriguing and enthralling. I like the way Chimbusonma keeps readers in suspense right up to the middle of the book and even past the middle. The book also has an eye-catching cover that compels the reader to look at it again and again.

It however has some issues, chief of which is its editing.

As one reads the book, one gets the feeling that perhaps Chimbusonma was so excited about publishing her first book that she neglected to do proper editing; if not, how else can one explain the fact that a name in the book is started with a small letter instead of capital letter, or the fact that  LARGE CHUNKS OF SENTENCES ARE SOMETIMES WRITTEN IN CAPITAL LETTERS or bold letters for no apparent reason, or that certain words which need apostrophe lack it, or that….and the list goes on and on.

I also think that the ending was a bit rushed, especially the last three chapters. Information seems to have been lost between chapter thirteen and fourteen and readers are kept in the dark as to how a certain dead body was disposed of.

Finally, I find the title of the book to be a bit puzzling, especially after reading the book. One is hard-pressed to understand the relationship between the title and the content of the book after reading.

After all is said and done, however, kudos must be given to young Chimbusonma for embarking on the journey of writing; and because this is her first book, she can be forgiven for the errors made. While adults may not be particularly attracted to the book, it is one book that African teenagers might find to be to their taste.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chimbusonma Obiagwu, a transfer student from Lagoon secondary school,Lekki, Lagos State, graduated in 2017 from Trinity International College, Ofada, Osun state. The Beauty of Looking Away is her first book.