Nala is a pretty typical teen: she doesn't know who she is or who she wants to be, she's pretty hard on herself, always comparing herself to others, and ultimately she makes a predictable mistake in trying to pass herself off as someone she's not just to impress a guy. That doesn't sound like a very original story to tell, but Watson definitely puts her own spin on it. Nala is a bigger girl, but she's not self-conscious about her weight and that isn't a plot point. She has a lot of family around her, not all of whom are perfect, but they are supportive and they teach her about loving herself and finding the confidence to own it. It's nice to read a YA novel that has the life lessons wrapped in a lightness that inspires readers rather than leaving them feeling lectured at. Review from e-galley.

I've seen a few people talking about how good this book was, so I decided to pick it up. The book was okay, in all honesty. It's a story of a girl who falls in love at first sight with a boy but lies about herself to get closer to him. Of course, it all comes to a screeching halt when the truth rears its ugly head. You know, the typical troupe.

I liked Nala's character because her development shows that some kids don't have it all together. She doesn't know all of what she wants to do with her life but knows what she's not into. Saving the world is not at the top of her list. She wants to enjoy her years with friends and family. Nala lives for now, not tomorrow. And that's okay.

Overall it is a pretty average story. I want to rate it 3.5, but my mama says if you're halfway there, you might as well go the whole mile. Or something like that.

I was kind of back and forth on this one while I read it, but by the end, I was really enjoying it. It's definitely written for the younger YA audience, which is a nice change of pace. Learning to love yourself and balance your personal relationships with your relationship to yourself and your surroundings are definitely the big takeaways and while I think that message sometimes gets muddled along the way with Nala's attitude towards her the Inspire Harlem kids being 'too woke' (which does at least get somewhat better by the end), it does feel like an overall net good.

One thing I didn't particularly love was the 'lying to look better for a boy' plot because.... well, I'm just not a fan and it goes on for a long while. It does get a little more complicated than in most instances, since Nala's feeling that pressure to be something else from lots of sides, but it's still just a tired trope for me. Still, Renée Watsonn does it pretty well and I overall enjoyed this a lot despite that.

This would be a great read for younger teens, especially those who could see themselves represented in it, like plus-sized Black girls or kids living in unconventional blended families (Nala lives with her aunt and uncle)

Nala doesn’t mean to lie to Tye. She just knows that he cares about activism and volunteering. So what if she told him she volunteers at a nursing home in her free time? Never mind that she’s just visiting her grandmother and her friends. Nala just wants Tye to be impressed with her. She doesn’t realize that Tye will actually be interested in her and that their budding relationship is now built on her lie. She wants to come clean but she learns that Tye hates liars. How long can Nala live up to her lie and what will she learn about herself on the way?

This book is a fantastic coming of age story for teenagers. It stresses the importance of honestly and accepting your true self. The plot and character development were well paced and believable. This is one I’d happily recommend to my high school students!

Well written as I come to expect from this author but I could not finish the story. I don't gel with stories that lack character growth, especially when the character is written as unlikable.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. When Nala agrees to go to an open mic night with her cousin-sister-friend Imani for a teen activist group in Harlem, she doesn’t expect to meet adorable Tye. As she gets to know him, Nala finds herself pretending to be what she thinks he wants, instead of herself. Meanwhile, Imani seems to grow resentful of Nala, who lives with Imani’s family. When Tye discovers her lies, Nala has to be real with herself and learn to love who she is, despite her fear of the future. Perfect for grades 7+, and it’s out 2/2!

I just finished Love is a Revolution by Renee Watson! This is a story about a girl, Nala, discovering who she wants to be. She feels pressure from her family to be the best, but she's not really sure what that means in terms of her life. Her cousin, Imani, is a budding activist who continues to try to recruit Nala. She's not interested until she see Tye Brown at the Harlem Inspire talent show. He inspires her to become an activist...or at least pretend to be one.

I loved this story! Nala's character is so relatable, and you find yourself rooting for her throughout the twists and turns of the novel. Watson did a great job of intertwining the character relationships throughout the book. I felt like I was a part of the family even though I was just reading about them. I know many of my students will love to read this book that is all about finding out who you are and loving yourself in spite of everything.

Watson has easily became one of my most favorite authors of YA AND MG. So much of Love is a Revolution is relative to students in highschool today. The ultimate message of loving yourself is so important, especially in todays world. I know it's very Harlem focused, as are most of her titles, but it does provide ample time for some critical discussions to be happening. Again, fantastic novel by Watson.

Loved this book! I thought the representation in the book was fantastic, and I hope someone falls in love with this book just as much as I did. Highly recommend it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars on NetGalley

I really enjoyed this new story from Renée Watson! I really like that Renée writes YA for actual teenagers when most YA books I see and read these days are written for older audiences. I also loved the body positivity and the joyful story about a young Black girl trying to find her place in the world. Positive and healthy fat girl representation is what we desperately need - a story where our heroine loves their body, and it is not used as a defining part of their personality, insecurity, or plot. Renée Watson did an incredible job creating memorable, sweet, lovable and realistic characters! Like Nala, who learns to rediscover herself by facing her fears, and to love herself. Or Tye who checks all the boxes for best YA book boyfriend.

This book is not only about love and teen romance, but also growing pains, the challenges of leaving your childhood behind to become grown up, and trusting who you are, and what you love. There are also so many great political, and environmental themes included. But the thing I enjoyed about this story the most was the genuine path Nala took when it came to reflecting about her own insecurities, thinking so little about herself, losing herself in others, and pretending to be another person just because she wanted to be loved and adored. I really loved Nala, and I loved the different paths she followed to find herself. I loved her bravery, resilience, and honesty. And I also loved all the different support systems she had along the way.

And of course I fell in love with every song written in this book! After reading those enthusiastic, moving words pouring from the writer’s heart, you really feel like you can achieve anything you dream! Nala's story was one of great tough love, but also such a big, warm hug for my heart and soul. I was rooting for her from the start, and I loved seeing her grow.

The only things that fell flat for me were Nala's estranged relationship with her mother, and the girl hate that made up most of Nala's female friendships. I felt like none of these relationships were really fleshed out well enough for us to care (especially when they referenced so often), and it's just tiring to see girls hating on one another in YA still. Healthy female friendships are not rare, and should have more representation in books. I didn't like how Toya treated Nala, but we never get to know her better to see if there was another reason why she was so rude to her. I also wish Nala would've at least stepped up and asked Toya what her problem was (like she did with Imani) to at least get some kind of genuine conversation going.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and the excellent representation and themes Renée portrayed. I can't wait to get my hands on a finished copy soon! Thank you to NetGalley and and Bloomsbury YA for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Bloomsbury YA & NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was everything I hoped it would be. Adorable and full of Black joy. A master at the iconic "falling into a pit of lies until eventually getting caught" trope that I love so much in YA. Aside from the love story, our protagonist Nala's relationship with her grandmother & her living community truly makes this book. It's super quick-paced, and Nala is a fun, imperfect protagonist.

I wish the body positivity aspect was touched upon way more than it was. I think there could have been some really fascinating conversations/topics explored when it comes to dating for the first time as a plus-sized teen but was disappointed to not have that! It was just briefly mentioned.

"My mind. It is strong and holds all of who I am. It is still forming and growing and in so many ways, still the same. My mind. It is expansive, and there is so much room to fill, so much more to know." — Renée Watson, LOVE IS A REVOLUTION

It's no secret that Renée Watson is one of my favorite authors. She so clearly writes from a place of love and from a place of celebration, and she continuously crafts deeply emotional characters who have so much to offer. "Love is a Revolution" is no different, in that sense. It's very much a story about learning to love—both learning how to love others and how to love yourself.

Nala is a really complex character who is imperfect and makes imperfect choices. I know not every reader will agree with her or afford her the grace she deserves as she continues her journey of self-growth, but I found her to be endearing and, for me, her struggles rang true. When she meets Tye—an attractive, intellectual budding social activist—she knowingly lies about herself in the hopes of impressing him. The thing is, those lies are not only a way to make him see her differently, but more importantly they come from a place of deep-seated insecurity. Nala isn't able to see herself as someone who is worthy of love, flaws and shortcomings included, and therefore she is not able to authentically transmit that love.

I think that's really the crux of the story: this idea that we will always be imperfect in some way, but as long as we take steps to ensure that we're always growing as well. that's what really matters. There's also this prevalent idea that we need to "sacrifice" what's important to us in order to grow, but in some ways that's also a toxic mindset. Just because we love imperfectly doesn't mean we shouldn't love. Just because we grow imperfectly doesn't mean we shouldn't grow.

You see that a lot with the Inspire Harlem group, a cohort of young BIPOC activists seeking to educate and grow their local community, who are often having to sacrifice time with their family and friends in order to put all their energy into their work. But Nala challenges that idea, showing her cousin and the other Inspire Harlem activists that we need to take time to remind ourselves what and who we're fighting for lest we burn ourselves out from the fight. There's also this idea that activists have to be stoic and detached in order to appear "intellectual" or to be "taken seriously," but Nala also challenges the activists to find joy in their work, because why can't our work inspire our joy and vice versa? If we don't experience joy, how can we inspire joy? If we don't challenge ourselves to grow, how can we hope to inspire growth?

I really appreciate that the story validates how there is so much work to do, there are so many things to care about, there are so many things to change, and it's okay if we slowly allow ourselves to grow into it. Who we are and our ability to be connected with where we're from and what we love is just as important as what we do and what we present to the world. That message really struck me hard, and I think it really beautifully explored throughout this story.

Renée Watson writes with such emotion and clarity, and I think we as a reading community are so much better for having her voice and her work. I definitely recommend this one along with her amazing backlist titles, which shouldn't be missed!

look, i was excited for this book. it honestly sounded like everything i could have wanted, but it was just not it for me. i mean, it had so much potential but it just did not work out in my mind. for example, there was honestly so much lying and just petty issues. i honestly thought this book was going to be good, but it turned out to honestly be kind of shitty. and also like toxic positivity, and then the whole if you don't love yourself then nobody can love you.

Wow! This is my first book by Renee Watson and I am not disappointed! I was first intrigued by the stunning cover art and the representation of a young big black woman. I was expecting a YA romance novel but what I got was so much more than that.

Nala Robertson has a plan this summer, spend time with her cousin-sister-friend Imani, her best friend Sadie, and fall in love. Imani is a part of an activist group called Inspire Harlem and invites Nala to some events where she meets Tye Brown. The two strike up a romance even though the first few things out of her mouth to him were lies. Nala goes through the summer feeling lonely and often left out by Imani as well as stressed about letting her family down when it comes to college. This is a gorgeous coming of age story that I felt was the author's love note to black girls everywhere. To love yourselves, love your family, love your culture, and love your history. I am not black and I don’t want to act like I understand what black girls go through but through reading this book I believe I learned a lot and for that, I thank Renee Watson.

I think this book is a wonderful coming of age story for young black girls but also for a young girl of any race. I felt myself relating to Nala and Imani’s characters a lot.

Big thanks to Renee Watson, Netgalley, and Bloomsbury YA for allowing me to read this arc!

DNF at 72%

This is kind of a case of: this isn't really what I was hoping for and the more I read the more I find that irritating. I was really excited for a summer romance with a plus sized, Black heroine. I wasn't expecting the entire plot to involve the main character lying about herself to impress a boy, or for that relationship to become increasingly toxic. It's more a case study in what not to do, and using tropes that I just don't enjoy at this point in my life. I also wasn't a fan of the antagonistic female relationships and girl hate throughout. I like that we get a confident, plus size heroine who loves her family, and a guy who's genuinely into her. I also appreciate the conversations around activism (although it gets a little old having the MC be so negative about it all the time), but this other stuff made it less than enjoyable for me.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the book for me, but I could see how some teens might connect with it more. I am sad though because the cover is stunning and the premise sounded so great! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.75 out of 5 stars.

This was a delight to read! Renée Watson is clearly a very talented author who can create characters with strong voices. Love Is a Revolution was super easy to read due to the seemingly effortless writing style. This story had wonderful representation and well developed characters. I would love to read from Watson again in the future. My only minor complaint is with the premise of the book as I didn't love how Nala lied to Tye upon meeting him. However I don't think that the main conflict was dragged out more than it needed to be and I thought it was handled in an appropriate manner.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc.

Renée Watson is an auto-buy author for me and I was so excited to read her newest YA novel.
I thought story was incredibly real- the protagonist makes some choices to lie about who she is, in order to impress someone.
The adults in this novel will stick with you, and the ending was great. I would definitely recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys YA contemporary.

I love this one so much. Nala is filled with love, hope, personality and passion. She is dedicated to her grandmother and being a good friend, she wants nothing more than to fall in love. Her best friend-cousin-sister, Imani, is an activist and dedicated to making their community in Harlem a better place. Imani drags Nala to an event, where Nala meets Tye. Tye is cute and funny and passionate, he's also a vegetarian and believes in fixing the world. When Nala tells a white lie, it slowly starts to take over and she looses herself in Tye and this other version of herself.

This story is about love, finding yourself, your family and so much more. I loved this story so much. I love that It takes place in Harlem over the summer. I love Manhattan summers. I loved learning more about Harlem. I love Nala and her grandmother and her aunts. They all bring something so special to the story. The writing is easy and the story is very fast paced!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated reads of the year early!

Renee Watson’s writing is always amazing. Her mixed media (poems, song lyrics, etc.) mixed into her stories always speaks to my soul. I love her writing and will definitely read anything she writes.

Things I loved about this book:
- Nala’s grandma and their relationship
- Self love
- The ending

Things I didn’t love about this book:
- the premise of this book is Nala lying about who she really is to impress a guy named Tye. I’m not the biggest fan of books centered around lying but that’s a personal preference. I think Watson did a great job with this premise even though it’s not one of my favorites!

A plus-size protagonist?! Yes please! Overall, I loved the storyline and the overall theme of learning to love yourself. While I did not care for the overly pushy activist portrayals, there was very little in this book that I didn't enjoy. I can't wait to get this into the hands of teens.

For Libraries: If you have fans Watson's other books, this is a must-have. And if you don't? You might just want to buy it anyway-it's quite good.