Here lies another book with a female stubborn/angry Black protagonist that I have no choice but to love. I really liked this book, like more than when I began and I’m glad the pretty cover made me request this title.

Chinelo or “Nelo” as we come to know her, is fiercely protective and proud of her neighborhood Ginger East. Things get rocky when her best friend Kate’s family store is vandalized and it looks a lot like Nelo might lose yet another friend. Kate is pushing her away, and while Nelo wants to get to the bottom of things, it’s just another thing in her world that’s changing and she isn’t a fan of.

About 10 chapters into the book I realized that I must be officially not with the times because while I understood the slang just fine, I don’t personally use it/speak that way/ever spoke that way with my friends, and it’s just a matter of time before the younger generation alludes me....but not if I keep reading YA to stay young zfjfdsfsfd.

Like Home touches on getting older, on shifting relationships and the growing pains of friendship, on gentrification and community and YouTube glamour/fame (lol), on first love and the awkwardness of having feelings; all these things aren’t just thrown in just to be thrown in too, which sounds silly but it really makes a huge difference when telling this story. And yes Nelo is the type of girl to throws hands first and maybe ask questions later, but her fire is undeniable and her heart is truly what pushes her forward, even with her rash decisions and her slick mouth and her pettiness.

I’ve never been a fan of change, whether it’s good or bad, so Nelo’s character resonated with teen-me and now-me. Like right down to not wanting to wear the new bra her mom bought because the old one was ill-fitting, and clinging on memories and viewing them with rose-tinted shades when the reality is much different.

Romance wasn’t a huge focal point for this story, which was completely fine with me, and yet as a huge romance fanatic, I appreciate that what happened between Nelo and Rafa didn’t result in a romantic relationship. Yes it’s hinted that it will possibly go in that direction in the future, but when the book ends, I feel a sense of peace with Nelo and her friends all together again and just being kids.

Which brings me to one other point!!!! A YA book where the kids read as kids?? Let me explain: YA has gone through a lot in the past decade, probably longer since I’ve been reading it, and while MG is holding it’s own, it’s like authors and publishing have been trying to age up and mature YA characters while still dancing in the box that categorizes YA literature. And while I enjoy college YA protags, and even the ones in vein with the Six of Crows cast where they’re youngsters but go through so much trauma you wonder why the hell they’re all under 18, like huh???, I think that it was just a welcomed shock to realize that this book is about 16/17 year olds and they sound and act like their age.

An #ownstories book, the author is Nigerian and so is Nelo, and it’s fun to see hints of that woven throughout the story, so I can imagine it’s even more meaningful for readers who are Nigerian themselves.

I’m still grappling with a rating at the time of writing this, so I’m in between a 4.5 and 5 stars.