Issue 01 |
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📚 PAGE & PULP |
Good morning, and welcome to Page & Pulp by The Juice, a weekly books newsletter mixing reviews, reading lists, author interviews, and conversations with our book community. |
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In this issue: |
Currently reading - Tomi Adeyemi’s battle + 5 African fantasy picks Backlist gem - Wole Soyinka’s Aké New release roundup A moment with Brewer Adunni Quote of the week + discussion
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Currently reading |
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Recently, Tomi Adeyemi refused to be affiliated with the movie adaptation of the first book in her fantasy series, Children of Blood and Bone. |
Over a year after the cast reveal and the start of filming, she posted a TikTok video in which she officially distanced herself from the adaptation, set to be released in January 2027. |
The video also included a screenshot of her blocking the lead character, Amandla Stenberg. Adeyemi also added that she won't be watching the movie at all. |
While we await further information about what’s happening, if you are a fan of fantasy books and you enjoyed reading Children of Blood and Bone or are yet to, chances are you’ll like these five African fantasy novels: |
The Deep Blue Between - Ayesha Harruna Attah |
The Deep Blue Between is a richly written story of sisters sold into slavery in the 19th century. Torn away from their roots in Accra, the sisters find a way to maintain their spiritual bonds. |
The Deep Blue Between is available on Amazon, Rovingheights, or Cassava Republic. |
Zarah The Windseeker - Nnedi Okorafor |
Although a young adult story, Zarah The Windseeker captures the mind as it goes beyond exploring the issues faced by adolescents to a broader concern: a young girl labelled an outcast because of her physical appearance. |
The author uses futuristic representations to build the world of the book, which adds to the lore of the main character’s saviour adventure. Farafina Books (also Kachifo Limited) is the publisher and distributor of the book. |
The Gilded Ones - Namina Forna |
The Gilded Ones is another young adult fantasy novel and the first book in a trilogy. It addresses the deeper, sensitive consequences of misogynistic societies. |
A 16-year-old fights hand-in-hand with other female warriors to tackle their oppressors and purity culture alike. Copies of The Gilded Ones can be found on Amazon, Rovingheights, Bookpeddler, or The Bookmarket.ng. |
The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi - Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o |
Originally written in one of Kenya’s indigenous languages, Gĩkũyũ, before its translation into English, the author touches themes of feminism, inclusivity, and courage as ten sisters rise together to fight tormenting monsters. |
The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi is also written as a free verse poem. |
Sànyà - Oyin Olugbile |
Last but not least is our top recommendation on the list. Aside from the catchy, beautiful cover concept, Sànyà is that Yoruba mythology you never see the ending coming. |
In this story, siblings are forced to live by already-decided fates, leading to chaos. Sànyà is the reimagining of the god, Șàngó, as a woman. Get Sànyà from Masobe Books and Rovingheights. |
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Backlist gem |
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Let’s talk about Wole Soyinka’s Ake: The Years of Childhood (1981). Not many people love biographies. However, some are worth picking up. |
This is not the usual telling-all-the-stories-of-my-life-in-a-book biography. Ake: The Years of Childhood is taken in bits and pieces, and this particular one is the first 12 years of Nigerian writer, poet, and playwright Wole Soyinka. |
As Wole Soyinka’s Ake: The Years of Childhood title implies, it is a memoir of the writer’s early years in life. |
A piece written from the perspective of what a child growing up in the mid 30s - 40s could recall. A recollection filled with the innocence of someone living life for the very first time. |
If you're looking to pick up a biography story for the first time, flip through the pages of Ake: The Years of Childhood, explore the depths of another being, and this time with a more grown-up view and years of experience on your side. |
The Ake Box set is available on Ouida or at any bookstore around you. |
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New release round-up |
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📌 Elnathan Jonathan is writing his first children's picture book, Hassan and Hassana Share Everything and set on October 1st, 2026 as the release date. We can't wait to support the Born On a Tuesday writer as his new book hits the shelves. |
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📌Great news for lovers of paperback as Zambian writer, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, announces The Shipikisha Club in paperback this July. For those of us who have yet to hear of it, The Shipikisha Club is a melodramatic domestic thriller that was released in March. The story touches on GBV, family trauma, motherhood, and the patriarchy. |
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Book Community Interviews |
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A Moment with Brewer Adunni |
We love to talk to readers and get to know more about them. In every issue, we introduce you to a book club member and learn about their favourite books to read, why they love reading, and so much more! Today, we have Adunni from Books and Brews. |
Tell us a little about yourself |
My name is Peculiar Adunni. I’m an actor, a filmmaker, a writer, a storyteller…and a reader. I model too, o! Eiii, I almost forgot. I’m an interesting person. I’m literally my name, “PECULIAR ADUNNI.” |
You asked for a little, yeah? Let me stop here… you’re welcome to my TED Talk to hear the rest. |
What book made you fall in love with reading? |
Hmmm… what book made me fall in love? Should I say Ralia the Sugar Girl? Koku Baboni? The Last Days at Forcados High School? The Wicked Step-Mother? Women of Owu? Or is it The Gods Are Not To Blame? I’ve lost count! |
Those books were my talking stage, and they created the path to me falling in love with books. But the one that really caught my attention and convinced me to say “Yes, I do” to book reading is Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. |
I read Stay With Me in a day. I think I was really lonely then, so I picked up A Spell of Good Things almost immediately (that same day o). I almost booked a session with a therapist after reading that. |
Which books do you read when you are sad, and why are they your go-to? |
Honestly, I don’t have a go-to book when I’m sad. Wait! I picked up The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks when I was sad, and it completely broke me. What a heart-wrenching, beautiful book. |
I think I enjoy reading heartbreaking or mushy books when I’m sad. But do you know the best book to read when you’re sad? YOUR BIBLE! There's a word that speaks to everything that makes you sad, and I highly recommend it! |
What genres or types of books do you enjoy reading the most? |
Romance!!! I’m a lover girl (screams internally and passionately). Also, I love crime thrillers and psychological thrillers. If I wasn’t an actor, I’d love to be a crime detective just to work as a detective for the L.A.P.D. |
I love the butterflies, the giggles, the “God when!” feeling I get from reading romance books. For thrillers (psychologically/crime), I love that I have to rack my brain to know who the killer is. I solve every crime scene with a book and a biro. I write out the list of suspects. |
Let me recommend some of my Top 10 thrillers: Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh, Gaslight by Femi Kayode (how many were you expecting again?) |
Best love books I’ve read, and I’ll recommend and won’t gatekeep. You’re welcome: |
Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love, Comfort Ovire’s When Love Visits, Rosemary Okafor’s God, Michael and Me, A Nollywood Christmas by Tomilola Coco, and Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook. |
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Quote of the Week |
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“Ever since Daddy left us, I am no longer sure what I believe in anymore. My devotion is tainted, with little left, except unattended resentment and this urgent anxiety to fully live and embrace life before my own time is spent.” Excerpt From Don't Tell Daddy What Happened in Lagos by Yemi Odunfa |
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Drop your favourite quote, line, or passage from a recent read: reply to this email or click here. We'll feature it in the next issue! |
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This or That? |
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New books or thrifted books? Tell us where you stand. |
For us — Shalom loves the smell of thrifted books, and Ike agrees, especially their affordable prices. |
Reply to this email or click here, and we'll feature your answer in the next issue! |
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Today’s issue was brought to you by Shalom Tewobola and Ikeoluwa Amonimo. |
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