Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and her memories of growing up there. Ginger East isn’t what it used to be, though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, all her closest friends moved away, except for Kate. But as long as they have each other, Nelo’s good.
Only, Kate’s parents’ corner store is vandalized, leaving Nelo shaken to her core. The police and the media are quick to point fingers, and soon more of the outside world descends on Ginger East with promises to « fix » it. Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale.
Worse yet, Kate is acting strange. She’s pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Nelo’s entire world is morphing into something she hates, and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything—and everyone—she loves.
° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °
My review
As soon as I started this book, I knew I would finish it under 24 hours! And I was right. I read it all in one sitting. It’s the type of book that feels so immersive, kind of like a movie? I really felt as if I was a member of the Ginger East community, as if I had grew up there all my life. It had everything I love in YA contemporaries: short chapters, the feeling of being sucked in the stories, interesting characters, and a nice plot.
The main character, Nelo, is sixteen and is starting to realize that her community is changing. Throughout this story, we see the way she reacts to change (whether it’s with her community, the fact that she needs a new bra, or her relationship with her best friend). At first, I found her to be very… naive and annoying? But then I realized, this is a sixteen years old teenager. She is reacting the way she should to the events she’s going through.
I found Nelo so brave for speaking up for what she thinks is right. I’m not saying she’s my all time favorite protagonist, but I definitely think she was valid.
I will say right off the bat that I did not like Kate, Nelo’s best friend. Her personality is just… Everything I don’t like. And I get that sometimes we tease our best friends and all, but if someone talked to me the way she talks to Nelo, I would cuss them out and not give them the time of the day. It’s hard for me to pinpoint what I didn’t enjoy about Kate, I guess you need to read the book to really understand!
I found the romance in this book to be really realistic. I loveeeee high school romances. The awkwardness, the first kisses, everything. It felt really authentic in this, and I loved that in the end, the characters weren’t dating. They were still figuring things out.
The pacing of the book was a bit quick at first, but then I got used to it so I can’t really complain! All in all, I gave this a five stars and I don’t regret. I’m really excited to read more books by Onomé, she is a fresh new voice in the YA contemporary sphere!
° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °
Like Home came out on February 23rd! You can buy it on Amazon, Book Depository, and Indigo! Thank you so much to Hear Our Voice Book Tours & the publisher for letting me read an advance reading copy and be part of this tour!
With love, Saoudia 