Christie Watson

Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away Christie Watson

Twelve-year-old Blessing and her fourteen-year-old brother, Ezikiel, forced to leave their comfortable home in Lagos, go to live with their mothers family in the village of Warri in the Niger Delta. Without running water or electricity, Warri is a nightmare for Blessing. Her mother is gone all day, Ezikiel is falling under the influence of a group of violent teenage boys, and her grandfather is trying on Islam as his new religion of choice. But Blessings grandmother becomes a beloved mentor, teaching her the ways of the midwife in rural Nigeria. Blessing is exposed to the horrors of genital mutilation and the devastation wrought on the environment by British and American oil companies. As Warri comes to feel like home, Blessing becomes more aware of the threats to its safety, both from its unshakable but dangerous traditions and from the carelessness of the modern world.