The Maid and the Crocodile
Young Adult Fiction / Nigeria / Fantasy / Ages 14 - 18
Amulet Books
August 13, 2024
A romantic standalone fantasy set in the world of Raybearer, from New York Times bestselling author Jordan Ifueko The smallest spark can bind two hearts . . . or start a revolution. In the magic-soaked capital city of Oluwan, Small Sade needs a job--preferably as a maid, with employers who don't mind her unique appearance and unlucky foot. But before she can be hired, she accidentally binds herself to a powerful being known only as the Crocodile, a god rumored to devour pretty girls. Inexplicably, Sade finds herself drawn to Crocodile and he to her. Also includes well-rounded queer characters.
Jordan Ifueko’s The Maid and the Crocodile is a thrilling fantasy and magical narrative that centers on the character of Sade (Small Sade) and her life in Oluwan City. It is also an inspiring and socially relevant narrative that explores the themes of self-worth, love, sacrifice, reform, liberation, and justice. Sade, who is haunted by her childhood memories, especially the death of her mother, wants to keep to herself. She just wants to secure the job of a maid and Curse-Eater, spiritually eating the sins and mess of corrupt lords and elites and cleansing them. She is convinced that the system does not care about people like her but only cares about rules which she must not break (131). She regards herself as an “ant who lived in this world of gods and giants,” and knows that any attempt to fight those in power would make her “limp away in pieces” (27).
There is a turn of events when Sade encounters the Crocodile, a cursed, magical, and shapeshifting being. There is a bond between these two because of a curse and a prophecy. As the relationship between Sade and the Crocodile grows, it becomes clear that the Crocodile is not only interested in Sade breaking his curse but more importantly, in Sade realizing her revolutionary potential (203). The Crocodile does not want Sade to only “grapple with individual problems’ but to ‘challenge the systems that create them” (218).
There is an abundant use of non-English, especially Yoruba, words in The Maid and the Crocodile. The result is code-mixing that enriches the narrative style and flow of the novel. These words are not written in Standard Yoruba, rather, without Yoruba tone markers and with completely Anglicized spellings in some instances, perhaps to ensure easy pronunciation for readers who are not fluent in Yoruba. Some of these words include gele (headgear), irukere (a horsetail flywhisk carried by kings, chiefs, and priests), oga (boss), ehru (slave), idekun (that which binds/chains down dark forces/power), shekere (a musical instrument made of dried gourd covered with beads or cowries woven in a net), agbada (a large flowing robe worn by the Yoruba and across West Africa), agogo (a cone-shaped metal bell used as a musical instrument and by town criers), moimoi (a delicacy made from steamed or boiled bean pudding), and ashoke (the Yoruba’s vibrant hand-woven cotton cloth).
The second-person narrative technique of the novel also stands out, magically transforming the reader beyond the conventional vicarious position of a reader to a text. This narrative technique makes it appear both aesthetically and situationally that the reader is the ‘you’ that Sade is addressing until towards the end of the novel when the character being addressed is revealed. I will leave this for the reader to discover who the character is.
The Maid and the Crocodile is a delightful novel to read, and I highly recommend it to teenagers, young adults, and all lovers of magical realism and social realism.
Ibrahim Abiola Odugbemi, Ph.D. Student
Indiana University
Published in Africa Access Review (April 9,2025)
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