BOOK REVIEW: WAHALA BY NIKKI MAY.

When someone tries so hard to be the boss of your life, to take ownership of your thoughts and decisions, you better run because wahala go soon start.

Ezioma Kalu.

BLURB

An incisive and exhilarating debut novel of female friendship following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group—the most unforgettable girls since Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.

Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She’s dating Kayode and wants him to be “the one” (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.

Boo has everything Ronke wants—a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be.

Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not.

When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she’s bringing out the best in each woman. (She gets Simi an interview in Hong Kong! Goes jogging with Boo!) But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo’s close friendship begins to crack.

MY REVIEW

Wahala reveals the world of three mixed race friends, Simi, Boo and Ronke, and the three of them take turns narrating the story, chapter by chapter.

These friends have a similar root, a Nigerian parent, and they become inseparable after meeting in the University. They live in the United Kingdom, each with her life, problems and secrets.

For Ronke, she wants a happy ever after relationship with her Nigerian boyfriend, Kayode. Though her friends do not quite approve of her relationship, because she had not really been in the best of relationships in the past, she is quite convinced that Kayode is ‘the one.’
Working as a dentist, she’s kind hearted and sincere. And easily my favorite character of all the three friends.

He won’t marry you, Ronke. Girls like us are for messing around with. Not for keeps.

Nikki May, Wahala.

Boo is the character I greatly despise. She complains about virtually everything. She doesn’t like being a stay-at-home wife, she always thinks her husband Didier and four year old daughter Sofia are against her. She self-sabotages herself and is cut between a miserable identity crisis and low self esteem.

Simi on the other hand is the fashion enthusiast and the most sophisticated of the trio. She has the life they all think is perfect, but do not know she has very dark secrets she’s hiding from everyone. She’s married to Martin, who lives in New York and who has ceaselessly been trying for a child.

Their lives experience an interesting turn, when an addition, Isobel is introduced to the group. Isobel is Simi’s childhood friend who comes from a ridiculously wealthy home. She makes herself the life coach, who wants to know everyone’s problems and secrets. She is intentional, and her motives would later be known by the trio.

She realized how much she missed the old threesome – the way things used to be. They had celebrated all their milestones together – first jobs, promotions, break-ups, engagements, weddings – they should share this too. She tried to arrange lunch with Ronke and Boo but they both made silly excuses. So she visited them separately.

Nikki May, Wahala.

The book started quite slow for me, and I didn’t have as much fun as I thought I would have, reading it. The book is supposed to be about friends with Nigerian root, but there was almost the absence of Nigerian originality. I expected a lot of Nigerian colloquia since the book title itself ‘Wahala’ screams Nigeria. But I loved the detailed description and twist at the end.

Wahala explores the themes of race, friendship, secrets, which are important topics. It’s a 3.5/5 book for me.

Have you read the book? What do you feel about it? Please share your thoughts with me in the comment section. Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter, follow me on all social media platforms and share with your friends.
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