{"id":7138,"date":"2026-08-27T02:25:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T02:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=7138"},"modified":"2026-08-27T02:25:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T02:25:33","slug":"review-echoes-of-a-wild-girls-drum-by-tiffini-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=7138","title":{"rendered":"Review: Echoes of a Wild Girl\u2019s Drum by Tiffini Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/div>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was seven when they tied me to the stake.<\/p>\n

They wanted me to burn, burn, burn like N\u00e1ngi. I threw blackjack petals in her ashes, but not even the strongest herbs can make dead mothers come back. Nobody threw blackjack petals for me, but when my turn came, a boy broke rhythm for me instead \u2014 the village drummer, the Commander\u2019s ward \u2014 and he was scarred for it.<\/p>\n

So I ran. Into the forest, into the dark. I learned to sleep where nothing could find me and eat what the forest gave and trust tree kangaroos and cuscuses before people. I forgot almost everything \u2014 except the boy who cut me loose from the stake. Except the tree where we carved a spiral with hair and blood and a poem nobody knows. Except the night we climbed so high the whole sky cracked open and I told him there were a million hundred stars. Except our beat \u2014\u00a0tap boom tap, tap boom boom tap\u00a0<\/span>\u2014 that belongs to no one else in the world. He was the only thing I kept.<\/p>\n

Women burn in this village. They burn for sick children. For failed crops. For the herbs they keep. Some are tired. Some are angry. Some pass secrets. But I didn\u2019t decide to come back. Something small needed me to.<\/p>\n

And now they know: the witch\u2019s daughter didn\u2019t die twelve summers ago.<\/p>\n

I know the sound the drum makes before whispers spread like fire.
The air already smells like smoke.<\/p>\n

Only now the boy who once broke the rhythm is a man.
And I am no longer seven years old.<\/p>\n

Favorite Lines:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are strong. We are brave. We are women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wind blows against my skin while my heart beats fast. In my head, I imagine tapping against the drum, keeping the pressure of the beat just so. The first time I played the Heartbeat and people spilled out into the streets, opened their shops, hitched wagons, and began their day, I felt it. Power. The drumbeat gave the village the knowledge that it was time to begin a new day. The drumbeat acts as the village\u2019s sun. I am the village\u2019s sun. And now I will learn to be its moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m talking in circles, jumping from one thing to the next, just like Salu, but you said spirals lead us home. You are my home. Listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.<\/p>\n

This is one of those books that grabs you from the first few pages and really doesn\u2019t let go. The opening is heartbreaking, but it\u2019s also the kind of scene that tells you exactly what kind of story you\u2019re stepping into. It\u2019s heavy, emotional, and not afraid to sit with uncomfortable realities.<\/p>\n

The story is set in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, and that setting never felt like just a backdrop. It becomes part of everything, from the traditions and village life to the way the characters understand the world around them. I especially loved how the drum wasn\u2019t just an instrument. It became a language, a responsibility, and a symbol that carried so much meaning throughout the novel. The cultural details felt woven naturally into the story instead of stopping everything to explain them.<\/p>\n

I was a really big fan of the dual perspectives. Seeing the world through young Soryelle\u2019s eyes is absolutely devastating because of her innocence. She notices smells, sounds, plants, animals, and little moments that make the tragedy around her hit even harder. On the other side, Maikel\u2019s chapters add a completely different layer as he wrestles with duty, tradition, and what kind of man he wants to become. Watching those two perspectives slowly build toward each other kept me invested the entire time.<\/p>\n

The writing itself is very sensory. You can practically smell the smoke from the mumu fires, hear the rhythm of the drums, and picture the forests and mountains. At times it almost reads like someone telling you a story around a fire rather than a traditional historical novel, which fit the atmosphere really well.<\/p>\n

This is definitely not an easy read though so get ready to cry. Johnson doesn\u2019t shy away from trauma, grief, or the lasting effects of violence, and there were several scenes that were difficult to get through emotionally. At the same time, the book never felt hopeless. Underneath all of the pain is a story about resilience, healing, connection, and choosing compassion over fear. Even some of the quieter moments between characters carried just as much emotional weight as the bigger ones.<\/p>\n

Summary:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Overall, this was a beautifully written and emotionally powerful novel that stayed with me long after I finished it. It\u2019s the kind of book that asks difficult questions about humanity while still leaving room for hope. I\u2019d recommend it to readers who enjoy emotional historical fiction, character-driven stories, literary fiction, and novels that explore resilience, culture, and hope after unimaginable loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can find the book trailer here<\/a>
Check out\u00a0Echoes of a Wild Girl\u2019s Drum<\/em> here!<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Synopsis: I was seven when they tied me to the stake. They wanted me to burn, burn, burn like N\u00e1ngi. I threw blackjack petals in her ashes, but not even the strongest herbs can make dead mothers come back. Nobody threw blackjack petals for me, but when my turn came, a boy broke rhythm for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7138"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}