No Heaven for Good Boys, Keisha Bush
No Heaven for Good Boys, Keisha Bush
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

No Heaven for Good Boys

Author: Keisha Bush

Narrator: Samba Schutte

Unabridged: 10 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/26/2021


Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • Set in Senegal, this modern-day Oliver Twist is a meditation on the power of love and the strength that can emerge when we have no other choice but to survive.

“I loved this book because it is a story about generations of parents and children saving one another with a love so powerful that it transcends distance, time, and reason.”—Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward

Six-year-old Ibrahimah loves snatching pastries from his mother’s kitchen, harvesting string beans with his father, and searching for sea glass with his sisters. But when he is approached in his rural village one day by Marabout Ahmed, a seemingly kind stranger and highly regarded teacher, the tides of his life turn forever. Ibrahimah is sent to the capital city of Dakar to join his cousin Étienne in studying the Koran under Marabout Ahmed for a year, but instead of the days of learning that Ibrahimah’s parents imagine, the young boys, called Talibé, are forced to beg in the streets in order to line their teacher’s pockets.

To make it back home, Étienne and Ibrahimah must help each other survive both the dangers posed by their Marabout, and the darker sides of Dakar: threats of black-market organ traders, rival packs of Talibé, and mounting student protest on the streets.

Drawn from real incidents and transporting readers between rural and urban Senegal, No Heaven for Good Boys is a tale of hope, resilience, and the affirming power of love.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Amerie on January 24, 2021

The Feb. 2021 selection for Amerie's Book Club is NO HEAVEN FOR GOOD BOYS by Keisha Bush! In No Heaven for Good Boys, Keisha Bush examines family, tradition, modernity, abuse, and survival. I fell in love with six-year-old Ibrahimah and his cousin Étienne, who felt not like characters, but flesh-and-......more

Goodreads review by Ronnie on October 31, 2020

What a great journey . I was caught up in the story from beginning to end. Sadness, joy, horror, celebration.....an emotional journey. It was also an education on the talibe . Heart wrenching at times.......more

Goodreads review by Sara on July 16, 2020

This may end up being one of my favorite reads this year. The setting, the story, the characters are all intriguing. If you know nothing of Senegal this is your book. You'll be caught up in the story of the boys who are forced to be out begging everyday and the families they have left behind. This b......more

Goodreads review by Shantelle on February 12, 2021

5/5 Just wow. Gut-punching story based on real events about two young boys in West Africa becoming Talibe (students of the Quran) per cultural tradition & being forced to live in squalor & beg for money to satisfy their master, otherwise be beaten. Sad but immensely beautiful narrative with feelings......more

Goodreads review by Sherry on June 27, 2020

Gorgeous. Heartbreaking. "No Heaven for Good Boys" transports you to Senegal, a country I confess I knew little about. From the talibés with their tomato cans begging for coins on the streets of Dakar to the yassa poisson being prepared in a village kitchen, this book brings it all alive. The charac......more


Quotes

“[An] unflinching and poignant debut.”The New York Times Book Review

No Heaven for Good Boys is a compelling, devastating novel with unforgettable characters. Keisha Bush doesn’t shy away from portraying the shattered lives of the children on Dakar’s streets and the injustices that they suffer, but she does so with great compassion and empathy.”Deepa Anappara, author of Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

“An extraordinary literary debut, as mesmerizing as it is heartbreaking . . . Bush is an amazing storyteller, by turns harrowing and tender, and no matter how difficult the journey, she never lets us lose sight of the two young cousins who are the beating hopeful loving heart of this triumphant must-read novel.”—Junot Díaz 

“You’ll root for Ibrahimah at every heart-wrenching turn as Bush explores his world and the difficult choices his family makes for the sake of honor and tradition.”—Melissa Rivero, author of The Affairs of the Falcóns

“A transporting and beautifully written novel, No Heaven for Good Boys is a testament to the power of friendship and the tenacity of the human spirit.”—Jasmin Darznik, author of Song of a Captive Bird 

“A propulsive and captivating novel . . . The characters are fully realized and empathetically rendered; I was rooting for Ibrahimah and his family from page one. I’m so glad that Bush has told this story.”—Mandy Berman, author of The Learning Curve 

“A captivating story of modern-day Senegal, beautifully written, wonderfully told.”—David Updike, author of Old Girlfriends 

“A tale of resilience and survival.”The Millions

“[A] powerful, Dickensian debut novel . . . Bush is a born storyteller, who knows how to speak in the language of the boys she brings to life. They are hungry and they want love—the latter being the word most often used in this devastating, drawn-from-real-events story.”Literary Hub