The Broadneck Library will be closed Monday, April 1 - Tuesday, April 16 for branch improvements. Please plan to pickup your holds at another location

The Riviera Beach Library is currently closed. For more information on the new location, please visit the Riviera Beach Library

Housegirl: A Novel
(OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
Macmillan Audio 2018
Format:
OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen
Edition:
Unabridged
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description

"Adjoa Andoh performs much of Housegirl, Michael Donkor's accomplished, affecting debut novel, in sparkling Ghanaian English, immersing listeners in the world of Ghana and the Ghanaian diaspora." — BookPage
Nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award
One of The Millions' "Most Anticipated Books of the Year"
One of The Guardian's "Best Summer Books"

A moving and unexpectedly funny exploration of friendship and family, shame and forgiveness, Michael Donkor's debut audiobook follows three adolescent girls grappling with a shared experience: the joys and sorrows of growing up.
Belinda knows how to follow the rules. As a housegirl, she has learned the right way to polish water glasses, to wash and fold a hundred handkerchiefs, and to keep a tight lid on memories of the village she left behind when she came to Kumasi.
Mary is still learning the rules. Eleven-years-old and irrepressible, the young housegirl-in-training is the little sister Belinda never had.
Amma has had enough of the rules. A straight-A student at her exclusive London school, she has always been the pride of her Ghanaian parents—until now. Watching their once-confident teenager grow sullen and wayward, they decide that sensible Belinda is the shining example Amma needs.
So Belinda must leave Mary behind as she is summoned from Ghana to London, where she tries to impose order on her unsettling new world. As summer turns to autumn, Belinda and Amma are surprised to discover common ground. But when the cracks in their defenses open up, the secrets they have both been holding tightly threaten to seep out.
Praise for Housegirl:
"[Narrator Adjoa Andoh's] creativity especially shines...This is an expertly told story of three interwoven lives." — AudioFile Magazine
"Donkor's dense descriptions of life in Ghana and London capture the dazzling disorientation of a young village girl on her own. Compelling female characters abound" - Library Journal, starred review

Also in This Series
Formats
OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
Works on MP3 Players, PCs, and Macs. Some mobile devices may require an application to be installed.
OverDrive Listen
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Details
Street Date:
08/28/2018
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781250318077
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Michael Donkor. (2018). Housegirl: A Novel. Unabridged Macmillan Audio.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Michael Donkor. 2018. Housegirl: A Novel. Macmillan Audio.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Michael Donkor, Housegirl: A Novel. Macmillan Audio, 2018.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Michael Donkor. Housegirl: A Novel. Unabridged Macmillan Audio, 2018.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Anne Arundel County Public Library11
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
8c655548-e583-c120-2547-98e04f811a14
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Sep 24, 2020 11:34:23
Date Updated:
Dec 08, 2020 00:10:03
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 24, 2024 08:10:24
Last Metadata Change:
Mar 24, 2024 08:10:24
Last Availability Check:
Mar 24, 2024 08:10:28
Last Availability Change:
Dec 06, 2023 18:32:29
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 28, 2024 04:05:51

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1493-1/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1493-1/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1493-1/9F9/137/8D/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1493-1/9F9/137/8D/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781250318077
            • type: 8
            • value: macmillan_audio#9781250318077
      • name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
      • id: audiobook-mp3
      • identifiers:
            • type: 8
            • value: macmillan_audio#9781250318077
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781250318077
      • name: OverDrive Listen
      • id: audiobook-overdrive
mediaType
Audiobook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Michael Donkor
title
Housegirl
dateAdded
2020-09-24T08:20:00-04:00
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=51&titleID=3915787
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Maryland's Digital Library (MD)
          • id: 831
sortTitle
Housegirl A Novel
crossRefId
3915787
subtitle
A Novel
id
9f91378d-92a4-484c-9114-9bbe84ed231c
starRating
3.2

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • duration: 10:08:43
      • fileName: Housegirl_9781250318077_3915787
      • partCount: 9
      • fileSize: 289812706
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781250318077
            • type: 8
            • value: macmillan_audio#9781250318077
      • rights:
            • type: PlayOnPC
            • value: 1
            • type: PlayOnPCCount
            • value: -1
            • type: BurnToCD
            • value: 1
            • type: BurnToCDCount
            • value: -1
            • type: PlayOnPM
            • value: 1
            • type: TransferToSDMI
            • value: 1
            • type: TransferToNonSDMI
            • value: 1
            • type: TransferCount
            • value: -1
            • type: CollaborativePlay
            • value: 0
            • type: PublicPerformance
            • value: 0
            • type: TranscodeToAAC
            • value: 1
      • name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: audiobook-mp3
      • onSaleDate: 8/28/2018
      • samples:
            • source: Part 1
            • formatType: audiobook-mp3
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-425/1493-1/3915787-Housegirl.mp3
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: audiobook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=9f91378d-92a4-484c-9114-9bbe84ed231c&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • duration: 10:03:42
      • fileName: HousegirlANovel-2902
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 289781548
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9781250318077
            • type: 8
            • value: macmillan_audio#9781250318077
      • name: OverDrive Listen
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: audiobook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 8/28/2018
      • samples:
            • source: Part 1
            • formatType: audiobook-mp3
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-425/1493-1/3915787-Housegirl.mp3
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: audiobook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=9f91378d-92a4-484c-9114-9bbe84ed231c&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: lesbian fiction
      • value: books on tape
      • value: audiobooks
      • value: Coming of age
      • value: audio books
      • value: lesbian romance
      • value: debut novel
      • value: black writers
      • value: British fiction
      • value: lgbt fiction
      • value: lgbtq fiction
      • value: immigrant fiction
      • value: lesbian books
      • value: lesbian romance novels
      • value: interracial relationship
      • value: coming of age novel
      • value: black authors
      • value: black girl books
      • value: london fiction
      • value: books about immigration
      • value: lgbt books
      • value: books about depression
      • value: books about death
      • value: books about mental illness
      • value: LGBTQ books
      • value: debut writer
      • value: best lesbian romance
      • value: books about single mothers
      • value: books about loss
      • value: immigrant novel
      • value: best lesbian fiction
      • value: Immigrant Literature
      • value: african diaspora literature
      • value: assimilation books
      • value: black lesbian books
      • value: black lesbian fiction
      • value: black lesbian romance
      • value: books about assimilation
      • value: books about child death
      • value: books about female friendship
      • value: books interracial
      • value: coming of age girls
      • value: expat literature
      • value: expat novel
      • value: ghana literature
      • value: ghanaian literature
      • value: girls friendship
      • value: interracial lgbt relationships
      • value: interracial lgbtq relationships
      • value: intersectional books
      • value: intersectional fiction
      • value: lesbian books 2018
      • value: london novel
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Donkor, Michael
      • bioText: Michael Donkor was born in London, to Ghanaian parents. He studied English at Wadham College at the University of Oxford, undertook a masters in creative writering at Royal Holloway, and now teaches English literature to secondary school students. In 2014, his writing won him a place on the Writers' Centre Norwich Inspires Scheme, where he received a year's mentoring from Daniel Hahn. Housegirl is his first novel, and many of the issues in it are close to his heart.
      • name: Michael Donkor
      • role: Narrator
      • fileAs: Andoh, Adjoa
      • name: Adjoa Andoh
publishDate
2018-08-28T00:00:00-04:00
edition
Unabridged
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Housegirl
fullDescription

"Adjoa Andoh performs much of Housegirl, Michael Donkor's accomplished, affecting debut novel, in sparkling Ghanaian English, immersing listeners in the world of Ghana and the Ghanaian diaspora." — BookPage
Nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award
One of The Millions' "Most Anticipated Books of the Year"
One of The Guardian's "Best Summer Books"

A moving and unexpectedly funny exploration of friendship and family, shame and forgiveness, Michael Donkor's debut audiobook follows three adolescent girls grappling with a shared experience: the joys and sorrows of growing up.
Belinda knows how to follow the rules. As a housegirl, she has learned the right way to polish water glasses, to wash and fold a hundred handkerchiefs, and to keep a tight lid on memories of the village she left behind when she came to Kumasi.
Mary is still learning the rules. Eleven-years-old and irrepressible, the young housegirl-in-training is the little sister Belinda never had.
Amma has had enough of the rules. A straight-A student at her exclusive London school, she has always been the pride of her Ghanaian parents—until now. Watching their once-confident teenager grow sullen and wayward, they decide that sensible Belinda is the shining example Amma needs.
So Belinda must leave Mary behind as she is summoned from Ghana to London, where she tries to impose order on her unsettling new world. As summer turns to autumn, Belinda and Amma are surprised to discover common ground. But when the cracks in their defenses open up, the secrets they have both been holding tightly threaten to seep out.
Praise for Housegirl:
"[Narrator Adjoa Andoh's] creativity especially shines...This is an expertly told story of three interwoven lives." — AudioFile Magazine
"Donkor's dense descriptions of life in Ghana and London capture the dazzling disorientation of a young village girl on her own. Compelling female characters abound" - Library Journal, starred review

reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        September 3, 2018
        In his haunting debut, set in 2002 in Ghana and England, Donkor tells the story of three girls as they become young women, dealing not only with typical adolescent issues such as unrequited first love but also with being at the mercy of circumstances beyond their control. In London, 17-year-old Amma, once an excellent student and high achiever, struggles to define and embrace her sexuality, becoming rebellious and secretive. Her mother, convinced that she only needs a good, supportive influence, enlists the help of friends from Ghana. They send Belinda, their 17-year-old housegirl, to live with Amma���s family in London, in hopes of serving as a role model and correcting her abrupt change in behavior. But Mary, nearly 12, must adjust to losing a friend and mentor when Belinda moves, leaving her behind. The girls��� true selves emerge; they become comfortable in their own skins and capable of honest friendship that transcends childhood. The captivating characters quickly draw the reader in, and the ending is pleasingly open ended, allowing the reader to continue imagining the lives of the girls after the novel is finished. Full of secrets and heartache, this is an excellent coming-of-age novel.

      • premium: True
      • source: AudioFile Magazine
      • content: Narrator Adjoa Andoh will have listeners aching for the lost childhoods of Belinda and Mary as the two child servants work in an upper-middle-class home in Ghana. Her descriptions of the girls' endless daily chores evoke empathy, while their sisterly antics bring smiles. Andoh delivers the girls' dialogue in a credible dialect, and the rhythm of her speech helps listeners unfamiliar with the Ghanaian accent. Andoh's creativity especially shines in her characterization of Mary, a younger, more vibrant version of Belinda. When listeners travel with Belinda to London, they are treated to yet another range of elements in this performance. Andoh contrasts the newly arrived Belinda with the polished tones of Amma, the master's daughter. This is an expertly told story of three interwoven lives. M.R. 2019 Audies Finalist �� AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
popularity
561
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L2BaQAAAOQCAAA1L/products/9f91378d-92a4-484c-9114-9bbe84ed231c/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
9f91378d-92a4-484c-9114-9bbe84ed231c
starRating
3.3
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1493-1/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1493-1/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1493-1/9F9/137/8D/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1493-1/9F9/137/8D/{9F91378D-92A4-484C-9114-9BBE84ED231C}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Fiction
      • value: Literature
publishDateText
08/28/2018
mediaType
Audiobook
shortDescription

"Adjoa Andoh performs much of Housegirl, Michael Donkor's accomplished, affecting debut novel, in sparkling Ghanaian English, immersing listeners in the world of Ghana and the Ghanaian diaspora." — BookPage
Nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award
One of The Millions' "Most Anticipated Books of the Year"
One of The Guardian's "Best Summer Books"

A moving and unexpectedly funny exploration of friendship and family, shame and forgiveness, Michael Donkor's debut audiobook follows three adolescent girls grappling with a shared experience: the joys and sorrows of growing up.
Belinda knows how to follow the rules. As a housegirl, she has learned the right way to polish water glasses, to wash and fold a hundred handkerchiefs, and to keep a tight lid on memories of the village she left behind when she came to Kumasi.
Mary is still learning the rules. Eleven-years-old and irrepressible, the young...

sortTitle
Housegirl A Novel
crossRefId
3915787
awards
      • source: Audio Publishers Association
      • value: Audie Award Nominee
subtitle
A Novel
publisher
Macmillan Audio
bisacCodes
      • code: FIC019000
      • description: Fiction / Literary
      • code: FIC043000
      • description: Fiction / Coming of Age
      • code: FIC083040
      • description: Fiction / World Literature / Africa / West Africa