The novel follows Temi and Wale. Temi is a talented writer determined to be published and willing to make difficult choices to achieve that dream. Wale, on the other hand, is seen by many as a bad boy who keeps his feelings carefully guarded.
A friend read The Re-write in a single sitting, neglecting some of her Sunday responsibilities. As she read, she sent me messages about the parts that made her angry, made her laugh, or made her shake her head in disbelief. When she finished, she insisted that I read it because she needed someone to discuss it with.
So I picked it up.
At first, I was not convinced. Temi and Wale are younger than I am, and I found some of their decisions difficult to relate to. I took longer to get through the book than I expected. But somewhere along the way, The Rewrite became a story about ambition, family expectations, timing, and the mistakes that continue to shape us.
The novel follows Temi and Wale. Temi is a talented writer determined to be published, willing to make difficult choices in pursuit of that dream. Coming from a privileged background, she often left me questioning her decisions, especially her tendency to lie.
Blackburn writes with the same laugh-out-loud voice I loved in her debut, Yinka, Where Is Your Husband? Even as the novel deals with heartbreak, family, and quiet pain, it kept making me laugh, and that balance is harder to pull off than it looks.
Wale, meanwhile, is seen by many as a bad boy, someone who keeps his feelings carefully guarded.
Throughout their relationship, Temi felt that everything happened on Wale's terms. She told him she loved him, but he never said it back.
Eventually, they break up, and Wale joins a reality dating show called The Villa.
“For a good week after our breakup, I cried and cried… In bed, I tossed and turned, and in the morning, I’d wake up feeling like death.”
In an attempt to make sense of the breakup, she writes a novel, The Ultimate Payback, inspired by her relationship with Wale. However, she exaggerates parts of the story to process her anger, heartbreak, and feelings for him.
As I read, I found myself thinking about past mistakes, conversations handled poorly, and relationships that ended too soon.
Years later, Wale's attempt to repair his public image leads to an unexpected reunion when Temi is hired to ghostwrite his memoir. The arrangement forces them to revisit the story they have been telling themselves about their relationship.
As Temi works on Wale's memoir, she gets a front-row seat to the life he had rarely spoken about during their relationship.
Growing up, Wale learnt that feelings were not something to be discussed openly. His mother struggled with alcoholism, and he and his brother took on responsibilities no child should have to carry.
This made me think about how boys are taught to survive pain rather than talk about it.
“The rules are different for boys. And you know it. Would you want to date a guy who cries all the time?”
Many boys grow up hearing that vulnerability is weakness and that emotions should be hidden rather than expressed.
Wale's silence throughout much of his relationship with Temi does not excuse the hurt he causes. But it does help explain it.
Temi's flaws are different. She lies even when honesty would serve her better, damaging both relationships and her career. We learn that beneath those choices is a woman who never believed she was worthy of love unless she earned it.
That part of the book resonated with me because I believe how we see ourselves shapes how we move through the world. If you believe you are not enough, no amount of success, praise, or reassurance from other people is likely to convince you otherwise.
In different ways, both Temi and Wale are shaped by beliefs they formed long before they met. The relationship suffers not only because of what they do, but because of what they believe about themselves.
While romance sits at the centre of the novel, mental health is another important theme, and one that Blackburn handles with care. Through Wale's story, she explores the lasting impact of childhood experiences and how people learn to hide their emotions to survive. It reminded me how important it is for men to have space to be vulnerable, to talk about what they are feeling, and to seek support without shame.
Some of the supporting characters were not explored deeply enough. I found myself wanting to know more about Shona, Temi's friend, and how she arrived at her views on relationships. There were moments when the secondary characters felt more like plot devices than fully realised people.
When I finished, I understood why my friend needed someone to talk to. Rewriting the past only works if both people are willing to do the work it requires, including being honest about their own mistakes.
Jane Shussa is a digital communication specialist with a love for books, coffee, nature, and travel. She can be reached at [email protected].
