4.5 stars

CW: child sexual assault, verbal abuse

I am having a hard time putting into words what I think about this book because reading it felt like I was reading someone's diary. It felt so personal and intimate that at times I felt like I was intruding on something I shouldn't see.

EVERY BODY LOOKING follows Ada from her high school graduation through her first semester in college, also flashing back alternating chapters to her childhood. The childhood chapters highlighted some formative (and honestly, very traumatic events) that shaped Ada into the young lady she is during the college chapters of the book.

This book is about learning how to exist in your own body and learning about what what it means to become an active participant in your own life. For many years, Ada has let what other people think of her determine what she does. But attending an HBCU lets Ada explore what life might be like away from pressure from her father, her church, and her high school, where she was one of the only Black students.

Novels in verse are one of my favorite new discoveries of the past few years because they manage to pack so much story into so few words. I am always amazed at how immersive they are, and yet how quickly I read them as well. This is another great one, and definitely one to check out.