In the weeks leading up to the forced marriage, Ya Ta has some of her most disturbing and harrowing experiences. The first of these is when she and Sarah come to the baobab tree, excited to find a piece of home and with mouths watering at the thought of its fruit. It is an emotional moment that lasts only a page because as they approach, they see that the baobab tree has been turned into a gravesite. Within the grave are Magdalene and many other people, and the smell is beyond anything they have ever known. The reality that they could easily be taken to the same place someday sets in, and although the sight is not directly described, it is an intensely horrifying moment. In another scene, Aisha is raped and later dies during childbirth; a girl who was living a peaceful and modest life spends her last hours in torture. One of Aisha’s last repeated phrases, “This is not Islam” (156), is a straightforward statement from the authors that Boko Haram does not represent Islam. Many characters voice this view, and the authors want to make it clear to readers who may not be familiar with Islam that Boko Haram are examples of Oppression, Terrorism, and Religious Extremism, rather than religious faith. Ya Ta also notices Boko Haram’s hypocrisy in decrying Western education while using Western technology. This is also a signal to readers that Boko Haram is only interested in oppression and violence, rather than promoting a coherent ideology.

Juxtaposition is often used to highlight the extremity of Ya Ta’s experiences. Ya Ta compares her old life to her new life, thinking about how Papa’s nighttime tales were always full of wonder and provided a learning experience while the leader of Boko Haram tells stories of violence and death. Ya Ta also used to think she knew what hunger was when she waited for her mother to return from the market and cook supper, but now she knows the true meaning of starvation. An entire chapter is dedicated to Ya Ta’s descriptions of how it feels to be this hungry: “It is the kind of hunger that follows you right into your sleep. It teases you in your nightmares and taunts your appetite with impossible meals” (166). Ya Ta also notes how she no longer feels empathy toward the new girls who arrive and only cares about whether there will be enough food for all of them.

The rift that develops between Ya Ta and Sarah exemplifies The Effects of Abuse and Subjugation on Women and Girls. While Ya Ta maintains hope by remembering her previous life, Sarah grows indifferent, no longer caring if she lives or dies. Ya Ta finds she no longer reach Sarah emotionally and stops trying. When the girls are told they will be married to Boko Haram men, Ya Ta’s fighting spirit reawakens, and she tries to decide if it is worth escaping into the forest. When thinking of marrying a militant, Ya Ta notes, “The thought is too lumpy for me to swallow” (179). Ya Ta ends up deciding not to escape, and her wedding feels like a funeral for the life that she was dreaming of before.