Book Review: Emilio Sanchez by Besidone Adewunmi Edun

Publication – 17th, May 2019.

Publisher – Parrésia Publishers Ltd.

Genre – Mystery, Young Adult Fiction

Emilio Sanchez, a young determined lad in Equatorial Guinea finds his life spiralling off-course after the death of his parents. Taking his life in his own hands, Emilio in the company of his friend Pedro leaves for the capital city with the blessing of his godfather, Padre Antonio.

In Malabo, the capital city, Emilio finds work and trouble. After a few months, he is arrested for theft, because his red handkerchief had been found at the scene of a crime.

Locked up behind bars, Emilio discovers the truth about friendship, loyalty and trust, and an unusual friendship forms behind bars.

Emilio Sanchez is a teenager, aged seventeen. He was raised in a cathedral church in Equatorial Guinea, where his parents worked, his father was the gardener and his mother took on many roles, including cook, florist and nanny. Unfortunately, they become deceased at the start of the story, making Emilio an orphan.

Emilio is a smart kid, very good with numbers and the top student of his high school graduating class, this talent/skill of his will take him very far. Emilio has a friend named Pedro who had been abandoned as a baby and was taken to the orphanage by Padre Antonio, the boys became friends because they worked together at the church.

Despite Pedro who is aged twenty-two being older than Emilio, their friendship was so thick, Pedro took Emilio back with him to his home in the capital city, so he could work and earn some money. Emilio’s talent with numbers is noticed and because of this, he is able to quickly advance himself, by getting an office job as an accountant in a big firm.

It is clear, Emilio is a good kid who wants no trouble and behaves himself, but sadly trouble follows him and unceremoniously throws him in jail, for a crime he did not commit and was framed for. While he is in jail a lot is revealed to us readers, which gives a bit of insight into some of the paths the plot of the story took.

There are many stories that are intertwined with Emilio Sanchez’s life, some secrets that we the readers will find out but won’t have any resolution, I feel like the story could have done without one of the many mysteries that unfold in the story. Because, we are introduced to various characters who play their own part in the story and Emilio’s life, but the book is too short and leaves some questions unanswered.

There’s not much I could say about the development of characters, because the story is 100% plot-driven, there’s not much insight into the characters and it’s just surface knowledge about each of the characters we’re introduced to, we’re told instead of shown and I can excuse it and say it is this way because of the length of the story.

About the plot of Emilio Sanchez, I find it to be solid, the build-up to the climax was good enough. Although the pacing of the story was a bit off, because there were instances where it read too fast and also where the transitioning of time wasn’t properly written and most importantly the use of language and style of writing in my honest opinion could use a bit of TLC because Emilio Sanchez read more like a boy aged fourteen than a boy aged seventeen.

I found Emilio Sanchez to be a very light and fast read. It’s a book that anyone over the age of 12 can read, which is why I would recommend this book to other people, it’s an awesome way to keep busy and entertained.