What do you think?
Rate this book
Between Good and Evil: The Stolen Girls of Boko Haram
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“This work is important and astonishing, but it is also a riveting read.” —Louise Penny, author of A World of Curiosities and the Inspector Gamache novels
Behind the Beautiful Forevers meets Under an Afghan Sky in this mesmerizing true story of the Nigerian girls taken captive by the terrorist group Boko Haram
In April 2014, the world awoke to the shocking news that the terrorist group Boko Haram had kidnapped nearly 300 school-aged girls and taken them deep into the forests of Nigeria. When veteran journalist Mellissa Fung travelled to Nigeria, she discovered that the scope of the kidnappings had been vastly under-reported. Hundreds—possibly thousands—more girls had been taken against their will and forced to become child brides to soldiers and leaders of Boko Haram. Some of the captives escaped and returned to their villages, many with children in tow. Most of these girls, still children themselves, were shunned by their former friends and family. Other girls have never been seen again.
A former captive herself, Mellissa Fung has great empathy for the kidnapped girls. Taken by Taliban sympathizers in Afghanistan, Fung shared her experience in her number-one-bestselling book, Under an Afghan A Memoir of Captivity. During several visits to Nigeria over four years, she sat down with the girls and their families and conducted hundreds of hours of interviews, listening to horrific stories of capture, rape and torture, as well as escapes and excommunications. Fung tells the stories of Gambo, Asma’u, Zara and other girls taken by Boko Haram. She also portrays strong women fighting against the terrorist group in their own powerful Aisha the Hunter, who moves stealthily into the forest, taking out Boko Haram with her faithful followers, and Mama Boko Haram, an Igbo woman who knows the fighters and those haunted by their experiences and fights to empty the forests of fighters and captives alike. This is raw, honest and heartbreaking storytelling at its best.
“This work is important and astonishing, but it is also a riveting read.” —Louise Penny, author of A World of Curiosities and the Inspector Gamache novels
Behind the Beautiful Forevers meets Under an Afghan Sky in this mesmerizing true story of the Nigerian girls taken captive by the terrorist group Boko Haram
In April 2014, the world awoke to the shocking news that the terrorist group Boko Haram had kidnapped nearly 300 school-aged girls and taken them deep into the forests of Nigeria. When veteran journalist Mellissa Fung travelled to Nigeria, she discovered that the scope of the kidnappings had been vastly under-reported. Hundreds—possibly thousands—more girls had been taken against their will and forced to become child brides to soldiers and leaders of Boko Haram. Some of the captives escaped and returned to their villages, many with children in tow. Most of these girls, still children themselves, were shunned by their former friends and family. Other girls have never been seen again.
A former captive herself, Mellissa Fung has great empathy for the kidnapped girls. Taken by Taliban sympathizers in Afghanistan, Fung shared her experience in her number-one-bestselling book, Under an Afghan A Memoir of Captivity. During several visits to Nigeria over four years, she sat down with the girls and their families and conducted hundreds of hours of interviews, listening to horrific stories of capture, rape and torture, as well as escapes and excommunications. Fung tells the stories of Gambo, Asma’u, Zara and other girls taken by Boko Haram. She also portrays strong women fighting against the terrorist group in their own powerful Aisha the Hunter, who moves stealthily into the forest, taking out Boko Haram with her faithful followers, and Mama Boko Haram, an Igbo woman who knows the fighters and those haunted by their experiences and fights to empty the forests of fighters and captives alike. This is raw, honest and heartbreaking storytelling at its best.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 18, 2023
15 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 13, 2023
I found the book very interesting at the start, but gradually found it confusing to keep track of the stories because of the way they bounce around. Sadly I wasn't as engaged with each girl's story as I hoped I would be. It is still a compelling book that honours the girls who were taken and the lives that were impacted by Boko Haram's terror.
April 28, 2023
This was an extremely important book to read. It opened my eyes to the conflict of the people in Nigeria and the horrors that they faced at the hands of Boko Haram and their heartless deeds and evil. A strong story of recovery, inner strength, and seeking help from those around you, it was expertly written by reporter Mellissa Fung whose love and dedication to these girls, and telling their stories, shines through on every page.
February 3, 2023
Another great read by Mellissa Fung, concretely connected to her own story, as told in her memoir “Under an Afghan Sky”... which is still right up near the top of my list of “essential Canadian reads” if anyone asks.
Reminiscent of the field work - reporting from conflict zones - of the likes of Margaret Evans, Adrienne Arsenault, Lisa LaFlamme, and Carol Off… And following in the footsteps of the likes of Doris Anderson, Sally Armstrong and Carol Off (again)… this is a continuation of the fine tradition of (female) Canadian journalistic story-telling in print.
This lays bare the reality of the insurgency in Nigeria, and the devastating toll that it is taking on the “lives of girls and women” in the north where Boko Haram remains active. This insurgency has largely fallen off the radar of the international media, but the threat - and the trauma, past and present - remain very real.
This book gives voice to those who were traumatised - giving witness to their healing journeys, and bringing hope. By default she also challenges us to challenge the narrative - to look behind the curtain - and understand the forces at play that maintain the status quo and continue to put more girls, women, families and communities in harms way.
A must-read title for 2023.
With thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me early digital access to this title.
Reminiscent of the field work - reporting from conflict zones - of the likes of Margaret Evans, Adrienne Arsenault, Lisa LaFlamme, and Carol Off… And following in the footsteps of the likes of Doris Anderson, Sally Armstrong and Carol Off (again)… this is a continuation of the fine tradition of (female) Canadian journalistic story-telling in print.
This lays bare the reality of the insurgency in Nigeria, and the devastating toll that it is taking on the “lives of girls and women” in the north where Boko Haram remains active. This insurgency has largely fallen off the radar of the international media, but the threat - and the trauma, past and present - remain very real.
This book gives voice to those who were traumatised - giving witness to their healing journeys, and bringing hope. By default she also challenges us to challenge the narrative - to look behind the curtain - and understand the forces at play that maintain the status quo and continue to put more girls, women, families and communities in harms way.
A must-read title for 2023.
With thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me early digital access to this title.
August 17, 2025
This book was really interesting. I didn't know much about the Boko Haram terrorist group and I learned a few things reading this. It was fascinating to understand the origin of this terrorist group and I'm disappointed that it took reading this book for me to grasp some of what these Nigerian women and girls are going through on an ongoing basis. I had heard of the Boko Haram before but because they are so rarely featured by international media, I was never invested in the plight of Nigerians in the north east of their country. Reading Between Good and Evil has changed that. It was very enlightening and added to my understanding of the collective trauma inflicted on the victims of these terrorists.
I liked the conversational tone of the writing and I liked how the author focused on a variety of different women and their experiences. She talked to victims who became Boko Haram wives at far too young an age, their distraught mothers, as well as the "Queen Hunter", the leader of a civilian task force hunting the terrorists and "Mama Boko Haram," the woman trying to negotiate with the terrorists to release hostages and leave the monstrous organization. Besides the media coverage of the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, it is absolutely tragic and unfortunate that these young women's stories are largely ignored by the international community.
Between Good and Evil felt incomplete though and I was disappointed that the ends of their stories were so abrupt and relegated to short paragraphs in the epilogue. The switching back and forth between the girls' experiences was a little confusing as well since their lives and experiences were so similar. It is absolutely appalling what they went through and continue to go through in such a systematic way. Their stories are similar because this terrorist organization has fine tuned and "perfected" their techniques at destroying the lives of women and girls in Nigeria.
Lastly, I would say that this is an important book to read. The plight of young Nigerian women, their families, needs to be more widely known. Their suffering should be on our collective consciousness. We should be concerned about their safety. We should advocate for rest of the world to care.
I liked the conversational tone of the writing and I liked how the author focused on a variety of different women and their experiences. She talked to victims who became Boko Haram wives at far too young an age, their distraught mothers, as well as the "Queen Hunter", the leader of a civilian task force hunting the terrorists and "Mama Boko Haram," the woman trying to negotiate with the terrorists to release hostages and leave the monstrous organization. Besides the media coverage of the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, it is absolutely tragic and unfortunate that these young women's stories are largely ignored by the international community.
Between Good and Evil felt incomplete though and I was disappointed that the ends of their stories were so abrupt and relegated to short paragraphs in the epilogue. The switching back and forth between the girls' experiences was a little confusing as well since their lives and experiences were so similar. It is absolutely appalling what they went through and continue to go through in such a systematic way. Their stories are similar because this terrorist organization has fine tuned and "perfected" their techniques at destroying the lives of women and girls in Nigeria.
Lastly, I would say that this is an important book to read. The plight of young Nigerian women, their families, needs to be more widely known. Their suffering should be on our collective consciousness. We should be concerned about their safety. We should advocate for rest of the world to care.
May 28, 2023
An important story told with a personal empathy that resounded on every page. I think every teenage girl needs to read this book. To put into perspective how fortunate they are regardless of their problems. Well done Mellissa Fung.
May 28, 2023
This was an excellent book. I felt it gave a good balance to the story that was shared by the news media. These were facts from victims that we didn't get to hear.
May 10, 2023
Grim and cruel look at what is happening in other parts of the world.
April 28, 2023
Very brutal account
June 12, 2023
Between Good and Evil is written by Melissa Fung, a CBC reporter who was captured by the Taliban while on assignment in Afghanistan. She is uniquely qualified to interview the girls and women captured by Boko Haram in Nigeria. Her sensitive reporting gives us tales of horror while never infusing her own outrage. Many remain captured and require rescue but stories of those who have escaped gives insight into their lives. Those who have returned to their villages have suffered further indignity by being rejected because of their terrorist husbands and their resulting children.
May 25, 2023
4.5 Stars. I remember that in 2014 the worldwide news headlines about almost 300 girls kidnapped from a school in northern Nigeria by the terrorist group Boko Haram. They were taken deep into a forest, which used to be a wildlife park, and forced to become wives of the terrorists or be killed. Now hunting and poaching depleted the animals, and the military set up training camps in the place. Then the empty stretch of forest became an ideal site for Boko Haram to hide and emerge to raid and destroy towns and villages. Much of what was happening disappeared from the news and public consciousness. I was unaware that hundreds, probably thousands of girls and young women were abducted to face a similar fate.
Whenever Boko Haram raided a town, they killed the men and kidnapped the girls. This happened even before the well-known mass abduction from the school. Many people were killed and their homes destroyed, and adding to the terror, the military bombed the insurgents and killed many more villagers cowering in their homes. This is an account of the lasting mental trauma that lingers with the young women who survived and escaped their captors.
I was unaware of the work of Canadian journalist Melissa Fung. She experienced capture and confinement by the Taliban in Afghanistan and wrote a book, Under an Afghan Sky, that I am now anxious to read. She identified with the Nigerian girl's mental anguish and suffering. This book is an in-depth report of what she learned in interviews after several trips to Nigeria.
Young women who managed to escape and make their way back to their homes, often with children, were often shunned and shamed. Members of their communities feared them, thinking they had been converted to terrorism or regarded their children fathered by Boko Haram members as unwelcome. Reports that the terrorists sent some girls back to their communities under the guise of escapees wearing suicide vests to blow up themselves and anyone in their vicinity further added to their suspicion and fear. Unable to fit in with their former communities, some returned to the terrorist encampments.
The narration follows three young women who made their way back home bearing emotional
scars. Most wanted to fulfill a lifetime ambition to complete high school and enter university to secure their future. As their fathers had been killed in the raids, they now had to help their mothers with menial tasks or look after younger children. There is an instance of a mother's meagre income drying up because her daughter, a former Boko Haram wife, was helping. There were no funds to allow them to return to school. When this eventually happened, their mental state interfered with their concentration and learning, and they dropped out. There is an in-depth story of three women, Gambo, Asma'u and Zara, the horrors of their captivity and escape, and their lives following their return home. Their stories are scattered throughout the book. I would have preferred that the narration had concentrated on each one's story separately as I found it difficult to keep each individual from becoming confused in my mind.
We also read the remarkable story of Aisha, a young woman and former hunter. She led a group of former hunters deep into the forest to capture or kill members of Boko Haram. Soon, the government made her group legal, and soon other volunteers joined, among them brave women.
Another significant person is Mama Boko Haram, a woman who gave refuge and support to impoverished young men who became her family. Many of these became brainwashed into a radical fundamentalist form of Islam with twisted interpretations to suit their anti-government beliefs and to look at anyone else as infidels. One of her former boys became a conveyer of this way of thinking and an early leader of Boko Haram. Learning that some of the terrorists wanted out of Boko Haram and no longer held those beliefs, Mama negotiated with the government to allow them a way out with some of their female hostages. This agreement was met with betrayal.
We read about a centre offering support and counselling to young girls mentally damaged by the horrors they witnessed. They are encouraged to put aside feelings of guilt while learning to read and pursue hobbies while learning to connect and play with other children. Unfortunately, the lack of government support may cause this valuable program to be abandoned.
Boko Haram is reported to still exist in a few areas and still presents a danger. Mellissa Fung has written an important, informative book to make the world aware of ongoing terrorism and the threat to young women.
Whenever Boko Haram raided a town, they killed the men and kidnapped the girls. This happened even before the well-known mass abduction from the school. Many people were killed and their homes destroyed, and adding to the terror, the military bombed the insurgents and killed many more villagers cowering in their homes. This is an account of the lasting mental trauma that lingers with the young women who survived and escaped their captors.
I was unaware of the work of Canadian journalist Melissa Fung. She experienced capture and confinement by the Taliban in Afghanistan and wrote a book, Under an Afghan Sky, that I am now anxious to read. She identified with the Nigerian girl's mental anguish and suffering. This book is an in-depth report of what she learned in interviews after several trips to Nigeria.
Young women who managed to escape and make their way back to their homes, often with children, were often shunned and shamed. Members of their communities feared them, thinking they had been converted to terrorism or regarded their children fathered by Boko Haram members as unwelcome. Reports that the terrorists sent some girls back to their communities under the guise of escapees wearing suicide vests to blow up themselves and anyone in their vicinity further added to their suspicion and fear. Unable to fit in with their former communities, some returned to the terrorist encampments.
The narration follows three young women who made their way back home bearing emotional
scars. Most wanted to fulfill a lifetime ambition to complete high school and enter university to secure their future. As their fathers had been killed in the raids, they now had to help their mothers with menial tasks or look after younger children. There is an instance of a mother's meagre income drying up because her daughter, a former Boko Haram wife, was helping. There were no funds to allow them to return to school. When this eventually happened, their mental state interfered with their concentration and learning, and they dropped out. There is an in-depth story of three women, Gambo, Asma'u and Zara, the horrors of their captivity and escape, and their lives following their return home. Their stories are scattered throughout the book. I would have preferred that the narration had concentrated on each one's story separately as I found it difficult to keep each individual from becoming confused in my mind.
We also read the remarkable story of Aisha, a young woman and former hunter. She led a group of former hunters deep into the forest to capture or kill members of Boko Haram. Soon, the government made her group legal, and soon other volunteers joined, among them brave women.
Another significant person is Mama Boko Haram, a woman who gave refuge and support to impoverished young men who became her family. Many of these became brainwashed into a radical fundamentalist form of Islam with twisted interpretations to suit their anti-government beliefs and to look at anyone else as infidels. One of her former boys became a conveyer of this way of thinking and an early leader of Boko Haram. Learning that some of the terrorists wanted out of Boko Haram and no longer held those beliefs, Mama negotiated with the government to allow them a way out with some of their female hostages. This agreement was met with betrayal.
We read about a centre offering support and counselling to young girls mentally damaged by the horrors they witnessed. They are encouraged to put aside feelings of guilt while learning to read and pursue hobbies while learning to connect and play with other children. Unfortunately, the lack of government support may cause this valuable program to be abandoned.
Boko Haram is reported to still exist in a few areas and still presents a danger. Mellissa Fung has written an important, informative book to make the world aware of ongoing terrorism and the threat to young women.
November 15, 2023
This was a difficult book to read because of the subject matter.
People only were aware of Boko Haram in 2014 when this group kidnapped over 300 school girls from the town of Chibok. But the capturing of young women and terrorizing of villages had been going on for years. Boko Haram, born in the early 2000s, is an organization that follows a very perverted Islam, that condones killings, kidnapping, etc., in the pursuit of trying to bring the government of Nigeria down and turn away from Western influences. Many of the Boko Haram recruits are young, poor and disadvantaged men.
Fung follows the story of a number of young women, a number who had been kidnapped and forced to become brides for the Boko Haram militants. Their stories are outlined and we see how their young lives, for many were destroyed. Even when they escaped from their captures, these young girls would be considered an outcast in their villages.
Why a 3 and not a 4 for such a powerful story. At times, I had difficulty in following the individuals' stories - the timelines - when kidnapped and then a few years later. Maybe if the stories of these individual girls were told from beginning to end (one girl at a time) - it would have been easier to follow.
Regardless of this, it was a powerful story and very sad that so many lives have been destroyed with this perverted Islam group. To date, 50,000 people have died because of Boko Haram and 2.5 million people have been displaced. Also, how many lives have been ruined for ever!!!!
People only were aware of Boko Haram in 2014 when this group kidnapped over 300 school girls from the town of Chibok. But the capturing of young women and terrorizing of villages had been going on for years. Boko Haram, born in the early 2000s, is an organization that follows a very perverted Islam, that condones killings, kidnapping, etc., in the pursuit of trying to bring the government of Nigeria down and turn away from Western influences. Many of the Boko Haram recruits are young, poor and disadvantaged men.
Fung follows the story of a number of young women, a number who had been kidnapped and forced to become brides for the Boko Haram militants. Their stories are outlined and we see how their young lives, for many were destroyed. Even when they escaped from their captures, these young girls would be considered an outcast in their villages.
Why a 3 and not a 4 for such a powerful story. At times, I had difficulty in following the individuals' stories - the timelines - when kidnapped and then a few years later. Maybe if the stories of these individual girls were told from beginning to end (one girl at a time) - it would have been easier to follow.
Regardless of this, it was a powerful story and very sad that so many lives have been destroyed with this perverted Islam group. To date, 50,000 people have died because of Boko Haram and 2.5 million people have been displaced. Also, how many lives have been ruined for ever!!!!
September 16, 2024
This is certainly a book that should be read by everyone regarding the fine line between good and evil and trust and faith. It described a lot of what is happening in Nigeria and other countries of which we have little exposure here in the West. No matter how the tangled and heart-wrenching stories of these young women's lives have become, too many questions remain about the nature of government and religion, charity and honest labor, and enforceable public policy in countries where powerlessness leads to anarchy, chaos and mass murder. Individual rights do not seem to exist and enforced torture and imprisonment are necessary to maintain the Boko Harem "shadow" religious government in the forest. All religions are subject to interpretation and the interpreters claim the power to kill those who worship a kinder God. No religion is innocent. There are no answers or even possible answers to this worldwide dilemma, only the voices of the powerless and their sad echoes through time. We can wish them peace but not hope.
May 16, 2023
I discovered this book after attending Mellissa Fung's discussion with Louise Penny in Toronto. She mentioned that all royalties from the book would go towards projects supporting the girls. As I read each chapter, the situation weighed heavily on my mind... it is hard to sleep at night knowing that villages are still being raided, as kidnappings and killings continue. Which raises the question of, What can we do? I'm still trying to navigate what I can do to help.
The book is told from a reporter's perspective with a creative eye.. with a focus on both the terror and courage of each girls story. I would say that the book is not for everyone, because it does take emotional resilience to absorb the story and not be devastated by it; but those of us who are able to read it can then pass on the message and raise our voices in a collective call to action. Thank you to Mellissa for having the courage to be a witness to the stories of these girls and embracing their plight as her own.
The book is told from a reporter's perspective with a creative eye.. with a focus on both the terror and courage of each girls story. I would say that the book is not for everyone, because it does take emotional resilience to absorb the story and not be devastated by it; but those of us who are able to read it can then pass on the message and raise our voices in a collective call to action. Thank you to Mellissa for having the courage to be a witness to the stories of these girls and embracing their plight as her own.
December 16, 2023
Mellissa Fung has put together her background in journalism to good use and combined it with what is clearly a passion for storytelling thus writing a book that reads like a fiction novel yet it is not fiction but a memoir that tells the stories of several women whose lives have been affected by Boko Haram. This is a novel that will make you cry but not from the cruelty inflicted on these brave survivors but rather from the moments of kindness that are found in these girls stories which truly show you just how far a kind act can go to changing someone's life.
I keep these girls in my heart and hope for a better future for them because they deserve nothing less than to have that hope and happiness towards a brighter tomorrow.
I keep these girls in my heart and hope for a better future for them because they deserve nothing less than to have that hope and happiness towards a brighter tomorrow.
October 26, 2025
I don't take pleasure in saying that "everyone should read this book" because it's relentlessly dark, however the west needs a wake-up call. "Between Good and Evil" includes many names and locations that will be foreign sounding to the American reader, however the text is pretty easy to read through and retain the tone; it's a kaleidoscopic narrative structure that I was never really felt lost in. With the two-plus years of the Gaza War (potentially in the rearview mirror), one can look at Nigeria and see a story with similar overtones, but a dramatically different set of circumstances and way in which we see radical Islam divide communities – specifically Muslim communities as depicted in "Between Good and Evil."
June 22, 2023
Sad book focusing on the stories of a couple of girls who were taken to the forest by Boko Haram. They were starved, beaten, raped and forced to marry. There are thousands of women and young girls facing this torture still today. The end section talk about an organization councelling and helping some of these women.
July 17, 2023
This was extremely heart wrenching to read such young girls going through these terrible experiences. I like to read what is going on in other areas of the world. The reason I rated it a 3 was at times I was a little lost or distracted and it didn’t keep my focus but I do recommend this read to have these girls stories heard!!
September 14, 2023
Compelling reporting on the Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by the Boko Haram. It’s not only a look at the kidnappings themselves, but also a heartbreaking story about the struggle to cope with the trauma afterward (i.e. due to cultural norms or a lack of essential resources such as access to mental health professionals).
November 28, 2023
THis book is full of trauma and tragedy and I was appalled at the treatment of these women by Boko Haram. The writing style though was hard to read and keep track of all the storylines. I was often confused and found it hard to keep it all straight.
April 11, 2024
Powerful story of girls kidnapped by terrorists watching as friends and family were killed. Being forced into Martians when they finally escaped captivity being treated with suspicion by others in their villages
January 26, 2025
Beautifully written, nuanced book on a difficult subject. I'm glad for this opportunity to learn more about the girls of Boko Haram, but am left still feeling powerless as the action needed to address the situation are too big for me. Brilliant book, everyone should read it. Maybe then?
July 14, 2023
The horror these girls faced and yet they put their lives back slowly over time. It is shocking that there has been no end to the terror of Boko Haram. This should not happen anywhere in the world
August 11, 2023
Emotionally difficult to read but glad to learn about the Neem Foundation and all the important work they do
April 29, 2024
It's heavy, but important.
October 10, 2024
This was a book I did not want to read, but I am glad I did. It tells more of the stolen girls' stories than we got from news broadcasts.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews