New Book Alert: Francis Anderson Tells a Compelling Story with Glass and Darkness

The novel follows the life of Tobi, whose childhood is shaped by loyalty, shared secrets, and a deep bond with his best friend. Set in Lagos in the late 1990s, the story unfolds against a city alive with opportunity, hierarchy, and the pressures of youth. In their early school years, Tobi and his best friend are inseparable, moving through childhood with laughter, games, and quiet understanding. Their bond feels unbreakable, yet circumstances are poised to test it in ways neither child can anticipate.

Tobi is sent to Lagos State Model Secondary School, a strict boarding institution that hardens him, teaching endurance, control, and the cost of absence. For the first time, he faces isolation and the challenge of maintaining a sense of self within a rigid, unforgiving environment.

Following the school holidays, Tobi returns and begins at St. Jude’s, a private school with a social environment that contrasts sharply with Lagos Model. Here, he encounters a world less rigid but socially complex, and he begins to soften under the guidance of Tiwa, a figure representing ethical grounding, faith, and moral reflection.

Tobi’s inner world is haunted by recurring dreams and visions, strange and unsettling, hinting at dangers and choices he cannot yet name. At the same time, shifting peer influences and the changing nature of his relationship with his childhood friend draw him toward unfamiliar, morally complex terrain. As paths and experiences converge, loyalty, ambition, and personal integrity come under intense scrutiny, leaving him to confront questions he is not fully prepared to answer.

Through these intertwined experiences, the novel explores adolescence, identity, and the shaping power of absence, environment, and peer influence. Friendship, loyalty, and ambition intersect under pressure, revealing the fragility of trust and the moral stakes of choice. Lagos itself acts as more than a backdrop—its schools, streets, and social hierarchies exert tangible influence on behavior and opportunity, shaping the decisions that define youth. Tobi’s dreams and moments of reflection illuminate the tension between internal struggle and external pressures. The story is a layered study of adolescence, ethical choice, and the forces that shape identity, friendship, and ambition in a world where every decision carries weight.