Sweet Sixteen: A Coming of Age Story

This is not your average sixteen year birthday, it is more than that. To be honest I didn't really have much expectations for this book, it was just a novel I randomly picked up to pass time but now I think it was time well spent. This book made me introspect, question my personal values and life choices as a teen. Although I picked it up because I was bored, I got so engrossed that I had a hard time putting it down.

"Sweet Sixteen" is a coming of age novel by Bolaji Abdullahi, that centers on Aliya, a curious, intelligent and inquisitive girl, who gets a different present, from her dad than the usual birthday card she normally gets. This time she receives a heartfelt letter, one page for each year of her life. The letter was a tool he used to impart wisdom, share experience and address topics like sexuality, societal experience and self identity.

Reading this novel I was let just say surprised of the relationship Aliya has with her father. Coming from an African home, most parents are very distant from their kids. They don't really know who their kids are even though they cliam they do. They will provide all necessary requirements and handle all responsibilities but will not build a relationship with their child, but I really can't blame them because that's how most of our parents were raised too. I remember my mum will always tell me what my grandfather always says "you are to be seen and not heard" and that is how it has been from generations. It really opened my eyes to the fact that parents careless about open communication with their children. They should talk about struggles kids would face no matter how uncomfortable the topic might be. It made me realize that parents are basically a moral compass for their children and partly responsible for their character formation.

"Sweet Sixteen" highlights the struggle teens face while trying to navigate through life as the try to understand the world and society, while they also struggle to find themselves as the try to tell the difference between what is considered wrong or right in the society. It also discuss society expectations and pressure teens face when to comes to academic and career path. This issue has made more miserable and crappy adults who chose a career path just because their parents knows best.

Honestly, I think conversational style of writing really works as it makes the novel easy to read and relatable to the target audience, young readers. Sweet Sixteen is a very educative and insightful novel. It is relatable to teens and adults too. whether parent trying to communicate and handle your kids or teen looking for genuine advice and navigating teenagehood. It explors the challenges of teens and delve into deep discussions about sensitive topics. This book is a must read.

Thanks for reading ☺️
Images are all mine