As a high school teacher, and even just as a human who went through high school, it is wild, how rampant hurtful and out-of-control rumors can be in school. But those rumors have even more power when there’s even the smallest bit of truth to them, and then it said to you wondering who knew that about you to tell the rest of the world? in this book, Heather is the Queen B in all the ways that can be interpreted. When Iyanu’s photos are used to wreak havoc among a group of friends everybody within the group Hass to start confronting hard truths about themselves. For some of those people, it was their racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and just generally being a bad human. For others, it meant unpacking trauma from years ago that had kept them from moving on or continuing friendships that had been so important to them. This book has a lot in it and I know it is a book. I’ll be thinking about for days to come and one. I would certainly like to discuss with my students.

Iyanu, one of the few Black girls at prestigious Wodebury Hall, prefers to stick to the sidelines, taking photos at school events -- while her cousin Kitan has found her way into the inner circle of the popular (white) kids. After Iyanu takes photos at the school's matchmaking event ahead of the Valentine's Day Ball, her photos are copied and distributed to other students, with their secrets scrawled across the back. And when Iyanu realizes that only one of the popular students would have access to that personal information, she decides to investigate.

I haven't yet decided if I like dark academia in general, but books like this -- ones that offer the perspective of still-all-too-marginalized communities and unveil not only the racism and sexism and homophobia/biphobia/queerphobia still prevalent in academia but also the many ways that white people uphold those -isms -- definitely appeal to me. This book points out many racist aggressions, from offhand comments all the way up to blackfishing (a new term for me to learn) -- as well as how difficult it can be for BIPOC folks to push back against those aggressions when confronting the issue can lead to social isolation.

Iyanu and Kitan were a great pair of characters, showing the different tacks that can be taken in the face of such nonstop racism. Both had their own goals and their own ideas of how best to achieve them, and both of them have to learn how to deal with some really rough obstacles in their respective paths, including finding their way back to each other. Other characters -- specifically Quincy and his brothers Marcus and Jordan, Oliver, and Navin -- must grapple with racism and queerphobia in other ways and from different perspectives, so it never feels like the book has One Right Answer to solving these issues, but rather asks the reader to recognize that each person's experience is valid and can offer a different way to see how racism and queerphobia affect people. (I wish I could be more specific in talking about this, but... spoilers!)

The tension building throughout the story really kept me engaged with the action, and while I sort of guessed the culprit behind the photos, the full story had twists that I didn't see coming, and the way the plot resolved was supremely satisfying. I honestly didn't realize that the book was also a retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, but that just added to the layers of an already solid book.

An impressive debut from Omotoni, and I look forward to reading more by her. 4.5 stars rounded up.

CW: anti-Black racism, blackface, blackfishing, colorism, misogynoir, biphobia, queerphobia, sexism, panic attacks

Thank you, Balzer + Bray and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Everyone's Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni is an outstanding Shakespeare reimagining.

I loved being at Wodebury Hall, an elite boarding school in the English countryside with these very interesting characters.
I loved photography so it was a nice touch adding the camera and the big mystery of who stole Iyanu’s photos and why. And trying to figure out who is behind the stolen photos exposing everyone’s dirty laundry.
The characters were greatly portrayed throughout.
I really liked Iyanu and her style. It has a great tense atmosphere going on and worked well overall in this genre. I enjoyed what I read a lot and glad the characters worked well overall. The characters were what I was looking for and glad they felt like real people.
I thought the writing was sharp, enjoyable and fun.
Plus the big mystery! Which was engaging and had me flipping the pages quickly trying to uncover the truth.

A clever, sharp-witted UK boarding school story about family, friendship, and belonging—with a compelling mystery at its heart.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Balzer + Bray for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

It was a cool reimagining of A Mid Sumers Night by Shakespeare but it did fall flat for me. While I enjoyed the characters and the secrets being revealed, the stakes just weren't high enough to keep my interest. 2.75 stars.

A loose reimagining of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream . Nigerian cousins Iyanu and Kitan attend Wodebury Hall, an elite boarding school in the English countryside. Iyanu spends her time behind the camera, while kitan enjoy the perks of being with the popular kids . Everything changes when iyanu camera is stolen and everyone's secrets are revealed before the Valentine' s Day Ball. The story was good, I would recommend it.