Review of Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo

 Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo 

So if you are a lover of RomComs the way I am, this book was specially made for us! This book takes the cute, hilarious and sometimes painful parts of falling in love and creates such an amazing story with so much more than a boy meets a girl and they fall in love. You'll learn about culture and duty and how to balance all of that in the modern world. The constant references to some of my favorite romantic movies put a cherry on top of it all. This will probably go down as one of my favorites of the year. It's about assimilation, loss, love, family, duty, and culture and it will actually have you surprised till the very end. One of my favorite things about this book was that it didn't solely focus on the miscommunications of love like so many other novels (don't get me wrong there is plenty of it in this) but it focuses on the struggle to find yourself but while you're straddling two very different cultures. And I think a lot of people can relate to that. 

You'll meet our main character, Azere Izoduwa, a twenty-something-year-old who is successful in her career and trying to please everyone around her. She made a promise before she moved from Nigeria to Canada to her dying father that she would stick with an Edo man and persevere her culture no matter what. Cue in Rafael, a handsome strange whose fate is constantly throwing at Azere until she finally listens! Their relationship is sped up considerably and even though it comes at a great cost they seem to really love each other. But we all know how that turns out. Azere is a completely likable character and you really sympathize with her and can't imagine how stressful it must be. And her unhealthy obsession with RomComs is definitely me.  Rafael is the man of our dreams but he's burdened by his past and in the end, you just want to hug him and tell him it'll be okay. 

Stand out quote: 

"In the movie, destiny has a sweet sense of humor. In my case, destiny has a wicked sense of humor." p 46

Some questions to ponder: 

What ties tether Azere? How does she preserve or sever them? 

Why is it so important to Azere's parents that she preserve her culture at all costs? Why is this important to a lot of immigrants? 

Do you think it helps or hinders Azere to compare her life moments to scenes from movies? 

Is Azere pessimistic, optimistic, or realistic?

Thanks for stopping by!

-MDB