EVERYONE'S THINKING IT

Nigerian cousins reckon in very different ways with life at their predominantly white English private school.

Iyanu Da Silva is a budding photographer and day student at Wodebury Hall. While her cousin Kitan Ladipo is a boarder there, the two Black girls occupy different social strata. Kitan is best friends with two popular white girls, but this acceptance comes at a personal price. Iyanu recently traveled to London for the Black Girls Winter Fair, where she met her favorite writer, and she hopes to write about the experience in her application for a photojournalist position at an online magazine founded by queer women of color. Despite her outsider status, Iyanu is chosen to photograph a school matchmaking event. But her photos and negatives from the winter fair and the evening social disappear from the school darkroom—and reappear with nasty rumors and comments attached that disrupt the social order at Wodebury and land Iyanu in the hot seat. Now Iyanu and Quincy, her longtime friend and crush, are trying to discover who is behind the theft and sabotage. Through chapters alternating between the cousins’ first-person perspectives, the book insightfully explores Blackfishing, racism and microaggressions, and biases Black girls face in beauty standards and dating. The central relationship arcs are handled well and will resonate with readers. Teens of many different backgrounds will find elements of their lives reflected in this narrative.

A thought-provoking novel about the high cost of fitting in.