This book. I don't even know where to begin reviewing this one. This was my first book by Emezi and I cannot wait to read the rest of their backlist.

At its heart, The Death of Vivek Oji is a tale of grief. This is to be expected from the title and the summary of the story. You know from the beginning that Vivek is dead, and the story explores the other characters--especially his mom--grappling with Vivek's death and its unknown circumstances. But it is also a story about life and love, and trying to figure out your sexuality and gender identity within a community that is not wholly supportive of people who transgress beyond the 'norm'. Vivek has a secret and his friends are keeping it for him, making the circumstances of Vivek's death even harder to explain.

It took me a minute to get into this book. Emezi's prose is gorgeous but it also felt as though the characters were being held at an arm's length. But then you get further into the book and you realize this is purposeful, this is part of the secrets that are being kept by each character. I loved how the voices alternated between Vivek--from before his death and beyond the grave--; Osita, Vivek's cousin; and third person narratives of Vivek's family and members of the community. This switch in voice and narrative style gave the story layers of nuance that made it all the more powerful. By the middle of the book, I was hooked and the ending just destroyed me.

I've read that this book is much more 'accessible' than Emezi's other work, and for that I am glad. Everyone needs to read Vivek's story and I am so glad that this book exists in the world.

Thanks to Riverhead for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review

TW: homophobia/transphobia; sexual violence and assault; violence; death