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It is 1971, and Nigeria is under military rule, though the politics of the state matter less than those of her home to Enitan Taiwo, an eleven-year-old girl tired of waiting for school to start. Will her mother, who has become deeply religious since the death of Enitan’s brother, allow her friendship with the new girl next door Sheri Bakare? This novel charts the fate of these two Nigerian girls, one who is prepared to manipulate the traditional system and one who attempts to defy it.

THE REVIEWS

“A beautifully paced stroll in the shoes of a woman growing up in a country struggling to find its post-independence identity…Everything Good Will Come depicts the struggles women face in a conservative society. This is convincing; more remarkable is what the novel has to say about the need to speak out when all around is falling apart.” – Times Literary Supplement, UK

“An original, witty, coming-of-age tale: Tom Sawyer meets Jane Eyre, with Nigerian girls…you can feel the dust and sun. This is award-winning novel is an iridescent introduction to a fascinating nation.” – Observer Magazine, UK

“Again and again Atta’s writings tugs at the heart, at the conscience. At the same time, reflecting the resilience of the Lagosians whose lives she explores, humour is almost constant, effervescent, most often with a satirical twist.” – Sunday Independent, South Africa

“This lively first novel breaks new ground with a close-up, honest story of a contemporary Yoruba woman’s coming-of-age in Lagos. Never reverential, Enitan’s first person narrative reveals the dynamic diversity within the city, the differences across class, generation, gender, faith, language, tradition, and individual character. Differences, yes, but sometimes connections, too.” – Booklist

“Sefi Atta’s first novel has the nerve to redefine existing traditions of African Story telling. It confronts the familiar passions of a city and a country with unusual insights and a lyrical power pointing our literature to truly greater heights.” – Odia Ofeimun, author of The Poet Lied

“Everything Good Will Come is like listening to an old friend recounting and bringing up to date and to life happenings in our beloved city of Lagos. I was sorry when I came to the end.” – Buchi Emecheta, author of The Joys of Motherhood

“What is beyond doubt is that Sefi writes brilliantly with instantly infectious wit.” – Bashorun JK Randle, author of The Godfather Never Sleeps

“There is wit, intelligence and a delicious irreverence in this book. But it is Sefi Atta’s courage in choosing to look at her fictional world through fiercely feminist lenses that I most admired.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of Purple Hibiscus

“This is a courageous story about friendship and self-discovery, it is a rallying cry to women to speak out in a world that tries to muzzle them.” – Helon Habila, author of Waiting For an Angel

“An affirmation of faith in one’s capacity, especially female and national, for self-realization.” – Tanure Ojaide, author of Labyrinths of the Delta