As a middle-aged woman who enjoys YA, I especially love YA books with a strong message AND an engaging main character. Love is a Revolution is definitely that.

Nala is excited about having fun her summer before senior year with her cousin-sister-friend Imani, friends, and her family. Imani's part of a young-adult activist group called Inspire Harlem and although Nala isn't part of the group, she still attends one of their open mics and falls hard for cute emcee Tye Brown. The problem? Tye is an activist with a capital A and Nala feels like she doesn't measure up. She drinks out of plastic water bottles, loves bacon, and doesn't want to spend her summer saving the world. She's not even sure she wants to go to college. So she tells a few white lies in an effort to get and keep the attention of her crush.

As summer slips by, Nala's lies start to wreak havoc on her relationships, not just with Tye but also with Imani and Imani's family. Soon, Nala's wondering if not being her true self is really worth it? How Nala reconciles the strong emotions of first love with the discovery of her own self is a sweet and fun story. I zipped through this one and found myself smiling a big smile at the end. Nala's a lovely character--flawed, relatable, and charming; you can't help but root for her. The supporting characters are distinct and engaging as well. And the issues this one touches on--body positivity, environmentalism, social justice, love, etc.--are relatable and easily digestible for young readers and engaging for us slightly older readers ;). A charming, romantic, and inspiring book. I really enjoyed it.