I received EVERY BODY LOOKING from Penguin Teen in exchange for review. This in no way impacts my opinion or overall review.
EVERY BODY LOOKING by Candice Iloh
Publication: September 22, 2020
Genre: YA Contemporary (Written in Verse)
Page Count: 416 pages
Format: Psychical ARC from Penguin Teen
Rating: ★★★★
Every Body Looking is a debut novel in verse in the style of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds. Candice Iloh’s book tells the story of Ada–daughter of an immigrant father and an African American mother–and her struggle to find a place for herself in America and in her own family.
“This is a story about the sometimes toxic and heavy expectations set on the backs of first generation children, the pressures woven into the family dynamic, culturally and socially. About childhood secrets with sharp teeth. And ultimately, about a liberation that taunts every young person.”–New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds
Every Body Looking is a heavily autobiographical novel of a young woman’s struggle to carve a place for herself–for her black female body–in a world of deeply conflicting messages.
Told entirely in verse, Ada’s story encompasses her earliest memories as a child, including her abuse at the hands of a young cousin, her mother’s rejection and descent into addiction, and her father’s attempts to create a home for his American daughter more like the one he knew in Nigeria.
The present-tense of the book is Ada’s first year at Howard University in Washington D.C., where she must finally confront the fundamental conflict between who her family says she should be and what her body tells her she must be.
I first discovered EVERY BODY LOOKING last year while I was working on a blog post highlighting some upcoming YA books with Black main characters (check it out here!). As soon as I read the synopsis and saw that Candice Iloh’s writing was comp-ed to Elizabeth Acevedo’s novels, I knew I needed this book ASAP.
EVERY BODY LOOKING is a semi-autobiographical novel about Ada, a young Nigerian girl discovering her place in the world despite society’s expectations for her and her parents beliefs. One feature that I really loved about this book was that it played into a non-linear format with some sections taking place in present day with Ada at a HBCU and other sections taking place during her K-12 years.
I really loved this book because you could tell that it was so deeply personal for Candice to write. With that being said, I would like to emphasize a Trigger Warning for Alcoholism, Sexual Assault (especially dealing with minors), and Addiction. Please proceed with caution if any of these topics would be potentially triggering for you.
One consistent undercurrent in EVERY BODY LOOKING, though, is healing. We first connect with Ada as she is beginning for the first time she meets a dancer at school. Dancing quickly becomes a way for Ada to heal and to be free from all of the expectations placed on her as a young, queer Black woman; and it’s a beautiful theme running through the book.
This book is a punch in the gut, in the best way possible. If you are looking for a debut novel by a Black author to read during Black History Month (or any month, really), EVERY BODY LOOKING should be at the very top of your list. It can be hard to digest at times, but you will walk away feeling a bit more alive than you did before you started Ada’s journey.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Thanks again to Penguin Teen for sending me an ARC of this wonderful novel. Have you read EVERY BODY LOOKING? What did you think about it if you have? If not, what are some of your favorite novels in verse? Do you generally enjoy novels in verse? Thanks for reading, and I’ll talk to you again soon!
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