The Girl with the Louding Voice meets The Water Dancer in this magical, awardwinning literary debut that offers a new take on West African mythology
Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasureâs father died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a man who promises to change their fortunes, but his feet are hovering just a few inches above the ground. Heâs a spirit, and he says he can bring Treasureâs beloved father back to life if sheâll do one terrible thing for him first.
Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back. Itâs an itch that speaks to her patrilineal destiny, an honor never before bestowed upon a girl, to defend the land and protect its people by becoming a Leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honor this was before he vanished, but itâs one she couldnât want lessâshe has enough to worry about as she tries to fit in at a new boarding school.
As the two girls reckon with their burgeoning wildness and the legacy of their missing fathers, Ozoemenaâs fellow students start to vanish, Treasureâs obligations to the spirit escalate, and Ozoemenaâs duty of protection as a Leopard grows. Soon the girls are set on a dangerous collision course as both must face impossible choices, discovering what they are willing to sacrifice to get what is theirs in a world that always says ânoâ to women.