Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 22))
This exquisitely written short novel tackles an enormous and sensitive subject. Ten-year-old Akilah waits for her friend Victoria to return to Queens from a summer trip to Victoria's birthplace, Nigeria. But when Victoria returns, she's different. She won't leave her house or even say hello. Eventually she returns to school but gives only one-word answers; she seems wilted and stunned. Where is her laughter, her sharp wit, her academic sparkle? Akilah stays confused until Victoria finally talks: in complete ignorance, she was taken by her family to Nigeria specifically to undergo female genital mutilation. As Akilah, sickened, begins to comprehend, so does the reader. Williams-Garcia pulls no punches: the operation's consequences are clearly explained, not gratuitously but for truth. Eye-opening and grounded solidly in the present, this piece has absolutely non-generic characters and allows a shocking subject various points of view (all black) without sacrificing a moral compass. Unapologetic, fresh, and painful. (author's note) 2004, HarperCollins, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 10 to 16. Starred Review. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Michele Winship (KLIATT Review, January 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 1))
Akilah Hunter is spending her tenth summer looking forward to the return of her best friend Victoria Ojike from Nigeria, and to the start of fifth grade, but not to getting her first period, even though her mother has told her she's an "early bloomer." However, when Victoria and her family come back to Queens, something is wrong. Victoria is kept in the house, and when school starts, she isn't the same. She won't talk, she writes in little tiny letters instead of her regular loopty loos, she won't answer questions when the teacher asks, and she won't laugh--at all. Victoria's family tells Akilah she is getting over an illness. It is only after Victoria walks out of the class during a movie about human development and sexuality that Akilah swears her silence and learns the truth. Victoria haltingly tells the story of her trip to Nigeria, and the operation she had that has made her different from all the other girls in her class. Akilah is horrified, but wants to know more. When Akilah's mother discovers her researching a Web site about female genital mutilation, she confronts the Ojike family, opening a chasm between their two cultures and the two girls. By the end, readers realize some wounds heal slowly, and some not at all. Williams-Garcia uses Akilah's innocence and curiosity to address a delicate human rights issue about which she feels passionate. The text includes an author's note with suggestions for finding additional information on FGM. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2004, HarperCollins/Amistad, 133p., $15.99. Ages 12 to 15.

Patti Sylvester Spencer (Library Media Connection, August/September 2004)
Immigration brings the world into our classrooms, and along with rich international traditions come troubling rituals, none more so than female genital mutilation (FGM). Rita Williams-Garcia, a Coretta Scott King Award-winning author, tackles not only the female coming-of-age biological processes, but also the ritual of female circumcision, still practiced on two million girls annually. The topic is real, frightening, and challenging. In the hands of this author, it is confronted unflinchingly, directly with respect, and with a head-on thorough inquiry. Readers are introduced to a glorious friendship between 10-year-olds Akilah of Queens and Victoria, formerly of England and Nigeria, who are soccer mates, e-mail pals, and vocabulary-game players. But when Victoria returns for fifth grade classes after a summer in Nigeria, she is withdrawn and silent. Akilah's warmth and humor cannot restore the relationship. As Akilah unravels the tragic mystery, readers may marvel at parallel mother-daughter situations, strong family bonds, and positive classroom scenes. Everything in this slim novel rings true: dialogue, relationships, and action. Akilah's engaging narrator voice prompts readers to examine the value and danger of secrets, and the complexities involved when brutal cultural rituals conflict with modern concepts of human rights. Young readers will learn more about themselves and their world through this painful and compelling novel. Highly Recommended. 2004, HarperCollins, 133pp., $15.99 hc. Ages 10 to 15.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 2004 (Vol. 57, No. 5))
Fifth-grader Akilah is desperately waiting for her friend Victoria to return from her trip to the family’s home in Nigeria, but when Victoria does come back, she’s changed: the former academic whiz is silent in class, and she’s distant from Akilah, refusing, above all, to laugh. Eventually a worried Akilah finds out from her subdued friend that the coming-of-age ceremony Victoria had undergone was in fact a ritual circumcision, and though Victoria swears Akilah to secrecy, eventually Akilah’s mother, a child-welfare worker, discovers the truth. The characters sometimes respond more as political symbols than as credibly complex people, and the attempts at cultural context aren’t all that effective: the book never really gives Akilah much perspective on her own culture (male circumcision is justified as involving "extra skin"), nor does Akilah’s Afrophile mother ever acknowledge this complication to her idealism. Akilah herself is a distinctive presence, however, and her perplexity and rage, in combination with her own anticipation of transition into womanhood, gives readers an emotional entry point for the exploration of this issue; there’s also realism in her mother’s immediate and somewhat counterproductive response to the news and to the equivocality of the ending. Despite the drawbacks, this is an dramatic exploration of a contemporary issue of substance, and it will open the eyes of many young readers. An author’s note gives some background on the issue of female genital mutilation. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Amistad/HarperCollins, 144p, $16.89 and $15.99. Grades 7-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2004)
Akilah's best friend, Victoria, is spending the summer in Nigeria, where there will be a "special celebration to mark her coming-of-age." When Victoria returns home to Queens, something is wrong, and she finally tells Akilah what happened to her: a ritual clitoridectomy. Though Akilah is an engaging narrator, she sounds older than ten and several story elements strain credibility. But this will be an eye-opening book for most preteens. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2004, HarperCollins/Amistad, 133pp, $15.99, $16.89. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Jonatha Masters (VOYA, April 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 1))
Best friends Akilah and Victoria are usually inseparable. When Victoria and her family leave for an extended vacation to Nigeria during the summer before fifth grade, Akilah waits every day for some sign of Victoria's return. Akilah is overjoyed to see Victoria again, but something is wrong. Victoria no longer raises her hand in class, she does not play during recess, and she is not talking to Akilah. Victoria hides a terrible secret that Akilah uncovers after much prodding. It is so terrifying that no girl or woman should ever have to bear the secret alone. In her fourth novel, Williams-Garcia chooses a serious and rather uncomfortable topic as her focus. Female genital mutilation, or FGM, is a cultural rite of passage that millions of girls are forced to endure every year. The reader watches as these two young girls deal with this horrific situation. Williams-Garcia includes an afterword that provides general information on FGM and lists where readers can find more information on the subject. The publisher suggests the book for those students twelve years old and up; however, many younger students might not understand the subject matter. Instead it should be recommended for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. VOYA CODES: 3Q 2P J S (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, Amistad/HarperCollins, 144p., $15.99 and PLB $16.89. Ages 12 to 18.