Character-driven middle school fun!

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in this novel the most. They were completely believable and vibrant to me - protagonists and antagonists alike.

In this fast-paced quick read, our main character finds himself playing for a football team at his new secondary school- of course it is the boys team because not only is Spencer a trans male but he is also passing! As he becomes more passionate and embroiled in the team, he starts to question how long he can really keep his true self a secret for.

With some sweet romance and a whole lot of support for a trans teen while he attempts both growing up and growing into himself, this book makes for a heartwarming read. What I particularly enjoyed about it was that the writer opted to show an often overlooked type of family - fiercely over-protective in their attempts to be an ally.

I recommend picking this one up.

Fair warning though - I was not QUITE prepared for the amount of the book that would have descriptions of football in it

This book captivated me from the start. We meet our narrative anchor for the novel - a nameless voice whose experiences and metaphorical sons and daughters span the whole globe, having stemmed from Africa and being torn apart by slavery.

From then, across the span of well over a decade, we follow the lives of Michael in Brixton and Ngozi in Nigeria - growing with them thriugh their struggles, triumphs and sufferings.

The author does an impeccable job of interlinking the experiences of many black people across the dual narratives, illustrating how mistreatment and trauma truly Echoes through generations.

With this, Amaka offers pathways that present hope, difficult choices, ones that will provide no forward progress and pathways that may even provide negative progress for our characters. We journey with them as they find out for themselves which direction they are destined for.

This is a novel that offers a critical, angry eye at the way black men and women were mistreated by the white population in London, the way poverty erodes all aspects of life in Nigeria and the way women in particular have to engage with men to earn a living.

For a novel with such darkness, such trauma and so much reflection on the root of division and mistreatment through the slave trade, it may be surprising to hear that the main feeling I came away with was one of hope - but it is true.

This is a novel that will stick with me for years to come.

Thanks Randomthingstours for a copy of this book.