The Book?
There hasn’t been a book that I’ve read as of late that has been more relevant to one of the many problems of society and content creation these days. The increase of people doing up happy-go-lucky vlogs of those vulnerable – namely children – on social media for clout or much more sinister intentions, is something to think about when reading Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli.
It follows Anuri, who after stopped cooperating having spent most of her childhood being shared online by her stepmother, Ophelia for the world to see, wants to stop the cycle happening to her younger half sister, Noelle.
It was great from beginning to the very end. Nwabineli writes with such ease and also eloquence. She touches on a lot of themes that revolve around Anuri and her trauma and struggle over the years from the alcohol abuse since she was a teen, how being an ex-child vlogger has impacted her to even family dynamics with her family and friends.
Speaking of the relationships Anuri has with the other characters, I loved her friendship with Simi and Loki and how no matter what, they supported her through thick and thin over the years. Furthermore, it’s the opposite feeling with her dad, Nkem but that’s mostly because I’m still not fond of him and his decisions AT ALL. And the way Nwabineli described Christian and Anuri’s tender relationship was something of a cute slow-burn and I would be interested to see the author write a story on love next (strangers-to-friends-to-lovers please).
Therefore, Allow Me to Introduce Myself is a cautionary tale but excellent read on how exploiting young children for content can affect them in the long run and why children’s rights are important.
The Dish?
I can imagine when Anuri goes back to see her aunt or grandparents, they cook her a lot of dishes including this soup to have a little taste of home. African pepper soup is a hearty African soup made with goat meat cutlets or chunks, and various spices such as chilli pepper flakes, pepper soup spice and scotch bonnet. This dish comes from Lola’s Kitchen so check out the full recipe here.
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