Helpful Score: 2
What a haunting novel! Pat Lowery Collins writes the story of young Helen in a sparse, clean style. Helen is 14 and of marriageable age, so she is sent to the fattening hut. Excess weight is a sign of beauty and fertility; no man wants a bony bride. What they don't tell her is that, in addition to the fattening, she must also endure the cutting ceremony. Can she escape this traditional fate? The ending brought tears to my eyes. An excellent introduction to the horrors of FGM (female genital mutilation).
