Buried beneath the baobab tree

Yes. The novel is based on interviews the author conducted with families of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from Chibok, Nigeria in 2014, though the characters and specific events are fictionalized.

The narrative is a fictionalized account constructed from interviews with survivors of the 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, by the militant group Boko Haram.

The novel features an afterword written by Italian journalist Viviana Mazza, who collaborated on the research and interviews that informed the story.

The baobab tree serves as a central cultural symbol in the story, representing both the resilience of the local community and the grim reality of the mass graves found in the forest where the girls were held.