I loved this. It was so sweet and heartwarming and I was rooting for Rochelle the whole time. Jamal also does an incredible job of fleshing out all of the secondary characters and their relationships to one another in a way I've rarely seen before. The group friendship dynamics were incredibly charming and fun.

Rochelle “The Shell” Coleman is laser focused on only three things: becoming valedictorian, getting into Wharton, and, of course, taking down her annoyingly charismatic nemesis and only academic competition, Amira Rodriguez. However, despite her stellar grades, Rochelle’s college application is missing that extra special something: a job.

When Rochelle gets an opportunity to work at Horizon Cinemas, the beloved Black-owned movie theater, she begrudgingly jumps at the chance to boost her chances of getting into her dream school. There’s only one problem: Amira works there . . . and is also her boss.

Rochelle feels that being around Amira is its own kind of horror movie, but as the two begin working closely together, Rochelle starts to see Amira in a new light, one that may have her beginning to actually . . . like her?

But Horizon’s in trouble, and when mysterious things begin happening that make Horizon’s chances of staying open slim, it’s up to the employees to solve the mystery before it’s too late. But will love also find its way into the spotlight?

This was such a fun read, I've never read anything like it!! Not only was it my first WLW romance, but the mystery was an awesome addition as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this arc. All opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this YA romance. It had a fun cast of characters and a fun setting in a historical black movie theater. Throw in a little bit of mystery and some great tension between these former friends turned rivals. I will definitely be reading more from the Zakiya N. Jamal in the future.

I really wanted to like this more. It's definitely me and not the book. More and more, I'm realizing that contemporary romance is just not my thing. I have trouble with adult contemporary, let alone YA. "If We Were A Movie" was cute. Although, the plot was kind of generic and uninteresting, and Rochelle annoyed me a little. With that being said, this book could be great for its intended age demographic. I need to stick to YA fantasy. It's much more palatable to me.

I couldn’t get through this book—the writing felt juvenile, and it just didn’t hold my interest. I understand and appreciate that the main character is a person of color, and that her identity and sense of otherness are central to the story. That’s important and valid. But referring to white people as “palm-colored” felt jarring and, honestly, offensive. And I say this as a person of color myself. While it's true that many white people don't recognize their privilege, that doesn't justify reducing them to that kind of label—it feels like it crosses a line and undermines the message.

As for the romance between Rochelle and Amira, it moved way too fast. I was hoping for more build-up and emotional development. But because the story is told entirely from Rochelle’s point of view, it ends up feeling flat and predictable. I wanted more depth—more tension, more moments that made me feel invested. Instead, it just kind of meandered and went exactly where I expected.

This was cute. I really enjoyed the plot surrounding the historic Black movie theater and I liked the characters. The romance itself didn’t quite hit as well as the rest of the book for me though.

I really liked this book but this felt younger than what YA usually feels like. I liked Amirah much more than Rochelle and I feel like this book would've benefited from Dual POV's! Rochelle was so immature even though she continued to say that she was mature. The big reveal at the theater was so lack luster as well. I do like how I couldn't necessarily guess because it was so many things happening at once. But, once it was revealed it was just boring.

This was an enjoyable read and I especially loved how everyone was respectful when it came to Glory pronouns. Now even though this was a quick read it definitely sucks you into the story to see the relationship play out with Amira and Rochelle. Then the friendships that were made by the coworkers 🥰. I loved it and the community surrounding this book.

If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal

Omg! This is one of my fav books of 2025. It was so much fun. If We Were a Movie is a rivals (former best friends) to lovers sapphic YA. The two main characters, Rochelle and Amira, have to unite to save the local Black-owned movie theatre where they both work.

What I loved: the mom relationships, Rochelle trying to achieve her dreams, the setting, and that there is a mystery aspect. I found that the voice of Rochelle was so well done and compelling.

YA was one of my favorite genres and this is a perfect (to me) YA!

Thank you so much to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC!

Always here for an enemies to lovers trope! We meet Rochelle as her summer is unfurling before her and like any teen the summer before senior year, she’s looking for a job. What she finds leads her on a chaotic adventure of trying to figure out who is sabotaging her workplace-all while trying to steer clear of her school rival, Amira!

This book was a quick read and I loved how it built up the dynamic between the two main characters. Would highly recommend for YA readers looking for a sweet summer read!

IF WE WERE A MOVIE was the cutest YA merenguito!

It really took me down memory lane tbh because when I was in high school the movie theater was one of the few places I was allowed to go unsupervised with friends or on dates 😅.

Anyways, I'd highly recommend this one for any teen (but especially younger ones!) looking for a fun slice-of-life romance with a wholesome friend group & a happy ending.

P.S. Both girls are Black, but the love interest is AfroLatina! Cuban / Puerto Rican 😘.

First off thank you to netgalley for the ARC. I thought this was a cute sapphic romance. I love a book that I can read in a day, and this was definitely one of those, 4 stars for sure!

This was one of the cutest YA books that I have read in a while. I really appreciated the pace of the book and the character development. I think the movie theatre was a perfect setting for this book and I also loved the mystery aspect that was added in. It almost gave me Scooby Doo vibes. Overall, a cute and sweet YA romance that I would recommend to almost anyone.

When I saw this cover I knew I would have to pick this one up because look at that art!! The story itself was so cute. It's a closed door, sapphic YA coming of age story that I wish I had as a teenager. I loved the community at the movie theater. A story about the importance of supporting small businesses felt very relevant. I love a rivals to lovers story (especially when it's one-sided) and their banter was so fun to read about. If you're looking for a coming of age story with a sweet sapphic romance then you should pick this one up!

This was a really sweet, fast paced YA romance. Rochelle and Amira were both distinct, realized, and relatable characters. I loved seeing them slowly realize they’re not as different as they thought and shift from not-quite-enemies to more. Their tension and romance felt really organic and was so sweet. The backdrop of the movie theater was a great setting, that felt super nostalgic. This was a really heartwarming read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book, which has the classic enemies-to-lovers trope, but for queer Black teens. It also gave me all the feels because my very first job was working for a movie theater, so it brought back fond memories of my time working for Marcus Theatre, which was inside a mall.

If We Were a Movie has a fantastic and diverse set of characters, and I was really invested in Rochelle and Amira’s story arc. The rest of the characters are well drawn out, and I was really invested in finding out who was trying to sabotage the Black-owned theater where the teens worked. So, a little bit of mystery mixed in made this a fun read.

Highly recommend for teens or adults!

If we were a movie was such a cute YA book, I highly recommend for teens this was such a cute one. I loved that both FMCs were already openly queer, this isn’t some coming out story. They are very true to themselves already established, top of their class teenagers which was very refreshing.

This book is more than just a sapphic YA romcom, it shares the history of Black owned movie theaters, and why it’s so important to continue on this legacy. I loved that they showed older movies at the movie theater not just new movies. Horizon Cinema is real so that was even more cool learning about!

Rochelle Coleman is trying to achieve Valedictorian and hopes to attend Wharton, but she’s missing one thing on her resume, a job. She loves Gilmore Girls and the game codenames but cannot stand her academic rival, Amira Rodriguez. Who just so happens to be the daughter of her mom’s best friend.

I absolutely loved hearing about these two moms friendship, they were there for each other when they needed and I loved that!

This was an adorable book which some sabotaging pranks built in.

It’s really jarring reading a YA book as an adult especially when I read something along the lines of a “vintage 2005 warp tour tshirt”…..

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read If we were a movie in exchange for an honest review!


💜 Academic Rivals
💜 Sapphic YA romance
💜 summer jobs
💜 enemies to lovers
💜 moms are best friends
💜 childhood friends

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

If We Were a Movie follows teen Rochelle whose surprise job offer at the local Black-owned movie theater leads to mystery, romance, and a whole lot of popcorn.

This book was pretty straightforward fun; it delivered on all its promises, and while it didn't shock me or blow me out of the water, it's one of those really solid genre reads that are the cornerstone of teen romance. Rochelle was a wonderful main character whose relationships with her friends, her mother, and her love interest were a joy to read about. As a movie fan, I also loved the movie theater setting, and the plot centering on saving the movie theater was a lot of fun to read about. The conflicts felt overall pretty lighthearted, which made this one of those generally pleasant reads that you finish quickly and generally feel great about. I'll definitely be picking up Jamal's next book!

If We Were a Movie was just too cute!! I love movies, and I love a good romcom so this read was perfect! And the Hannah Montana reference in the title made my 11 year old self scream!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Okay, starting off by saying as someone who did an immersive read of this book, the narrator did a WONDERFUL job.

This story follows Rochelle and Amira, who are childhood friends to rivals/enemies to lovers. This book was so, SO cute. I think it's the perfect YA for folks that love a lighter, slice of life YA romance! I'd definitely pick this up for a teenager/fan of fluffy YA stories. I loved watching these two coming into their own - truly a sweet read!