I really should have reviewed this book earlier, given my poor book memory. From what I do remember, it was unusual in style and grew in substance and depth as the story progressed. Overall, it was an interesting and unusual read! There was a lot to love about the story. While I was too old to connect strongly with the character's struggles, I think it will speak to a lot of teens.

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh is a novel in verse following Ada through multiple points of her life, exploring who she is and how her life events have shaped her. Ada is a hardworking, creative young woman who is navigating her relationships with her parents, and the isolation she feels, and her seeking connection to others.

I will start by saying that I choose to read this because I have been looking to read more poetry. I am not sure this was the correct place for me to start. I think I chose a novel in verse because I thought the familiar structure would be a good choice for getting used to reading poetry. I do not think this format was really for me. I wanted more exposition, which seems unfair to the poetry aspect, but I just found myself constantly wanting to know more about Ada, more about what was going on. I did completely understand the emotions of the book; I liked that aspect a lot; the poetry obviously was a good format for conveying the tone and emotion of the world.

I did quite often feel as if I had missed something and would go back a few pages and reread. This, I am almost sure, was just rooted in my desire for more information and not actually confusing writing. But it happened quite a few times. I also felt like a lot of the storylines introduced were not really closed, which isn't inherently bad, but if you pick this book up, be aware that the story is much more character and feeling focused and doesn't totally close every plotline.

That is no to say that the book didn't have an adequate ending; the ending was nice. It gave a feeling of decision and action that was very fitting for the story. Ada had begun to make the choices of deciding who she is and who she wants the world to see her as. That is a very nice ending; I just did want to see a little more of that action.

I would recommend this book to people who like both YA and poetry, to those interested in books that closely follow an emotional journey, and to folks who like a clear coming of age narrative.

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh is a masterfully crafted novel in verse. We meet Ada, graduating from high school, biding her time until she can leave her father’s house in Chicago to attend college in Washington, D.C. Ada hopes college will provide the freedom she longs to have from her suffocating existence under the rigid rules of her religious Nigerian father and escape from constantly weathering the stormy relationship she shares with her mother. Iloh deftly illuminates the emotional impact that shared custody between parents can often inflict upon on children, especially when sexual abuse occurs. The novel flashes between Ada’s grade school experiences and freshman year of college. Ada has her own desires that she wants to pursue without judgement from her parents and struggles with finding her place in college. Dancing is the one thing Ada loves and she’s not willing to sacrifice the magic she feels when her body moves for anything. Every Body Looking definitely offers YA readers a fresh new voice that speaks loud and clear.

Ada is starting her freshman year in college. She's further from home than she's ever been, and has to make her own decisions for the first time in her life. As she navigates this new world, her love of dancing, college life, discovering she is in a classroom full of smart black kids. She reflects on her life in flashbacks. Ada grew up with her Nigerian father whose expectations were based on his culture, rather than American. Her parents were divorced, so her visits to her drug addicted African American mother were often toxic, and staying at her grandmothers put her in danger from a young cousin who sexually abused her.

Every Body Looking is a coming of age debut novel in verse beautifully constructed. I liked this format because the poetry gave us Ada's story in snippets, like memories, showing pieces of her story that reflect the grown girl without a lot a narrative needed. I would recommend this for a college reader, it feels on the older end of YA.

This book in verse was touching and sad, as it showed the difficulties of Ada's life growing up with an absent mother and a strict father. I would have liked to learn more about how she recovered from childhood sexual abuse and her feelings on her current sexuality. I generally enjoy novels in verse but I did feel like this one needed more of something.

Purchased this YA/middle grade novel for my middle school library. Superb character development, elegant world building, and compelling plotting.

I love love love books written in verse. They add a level to the story that I so appreciate. I loved that this story was very coming of age/coming into your self while grappling with cultural expectations. Highly recommend.

I very much liked this book. The verse was incredibly well written, and felt so genuine. I wish that there was more content, though. The story felt incomplete and I finished it wishing I knew more.

This book is told in verses.
And after listening/reading this book, I've realized that I don't really enjoy this format.

Maybe because I need dialogues, banters, story-telling in the books that I read/listen to truly connect to the characters. So, the format itself did not work for me.

Second, this is a coming-of-age book. I felt for our main character. Her story was touching yet might be relatable to every person's teenage years. Maybe it's the troubled relationship of your parents, or maybe it's the cruel/weird boys, maybe it's figuring out the future.

Again, this book made me feel like I'm too old to connect with this book.

If you are a young or new adult, who enjoys reading verses, coming of age story, then this one is for you.

Probably more like 3.5? I went into this wanting to love it and I think that led me to slight disappointment that it wasn't amazing. Good, but another one of those novels in verse where I struggle to feel like there is enough character depth to hold my attention.

See my review on YALSA's The Hub as a Best Fiction for Young Adults nominee:
http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2020/10/30/best-fiction-for-young-adults-bfya2021-nominees-round-up-october-30-edition/

Maybe books written in verse aren’t for me after all?

I definitely wanted to like Every Body Looking, but I couldn’t help but feel as if there was something missing from this book. The story didn’t feel very cohesive with the back and forth narratives going between the past and the present. My favorite parts were reading about Ada at college, and right when I would feel myself truly enjoying the story, we’d be pushed back into the past. Had there been a better overlap between her past memories and her present situations, I might’ve enjoyed this more. But that wasn’t the case.

The relationships in this also didn’t feel nearly fleshed out enough. I was confused throughout most of the book on what Ada was truly feeling toward her mom, her dad, and Kendra (her one and only friend—though it’s hinted at there possibly being more there).

I definitely wanted more from this book, but maybe most of my frustrations can be explained as simply aspects of books written in verse. If so, they may just not be for me.

I loved my time with this one. I think the writing was great. This books talks about some hard topics in a wonderful, real way. If you're a fan of Acevedo's work then this is the book for you.

the poetry of this novel is utterly breathtaking. the words take on a powerful movement and rhythm as a young girl navigates college, family, memories, and finding her voice and understanding her own body. I wish this is a book I had my first year at college.

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh was a finalist for the National Book Award, yet I still feel like not enough people that I follow are talking about it. In fact, I did a search on twitter and only one person that I follow has tweeted about it. What a shame, as Candice Iloh’s debut is just spectacular and one you need to put on your list particularly if you are an aficionado of verse books.

Candice Iloh’s Every Body Looking follows Ada who as the book is opening is graduating from high school. As the book goes on, we see Ada going through her freshman year at a Historically Black College – I believe Howard, if I remember correctly. Interspersed with her time at Howard are flashbacks to her past. We see Ada in first, second and sixth grade which adds so much context to Ada as a person. We also get a glimpse into the complexity of Ada’s relationships with her parents. Her dad is a successful Nigerian immigrant who is very religious and has high expectations of Ada. Ada’s mom has an unnamed mental illness, but we see how it impacts their relationship. We also get to see Ada’s love of dance. Plus there’s the whole being a Black female body in the world and Ada’s experiences and perception of this.

I read this book from a white gaze, as I am a white person. So, I am 100% sure I did not pick up on certain things that are outside my scope and experience. That’s okay. I do think Every Body Looking is such an important book to read. This book covers trauma, but also making mistakes and finding yourself. It is beautifully written. As this is Candice Iloh’s debut, I cannot wait to see what else she comes up with. It’s beautifully written and flows very well. The pacing is very quick, which is due in part to the verse format but also because Ada’s story is so compelling. Do not miss out on this book, it deserves your time and support.

This is a story told in verse about Ada, the first daughter of an immigrant father and a mother who she doesn't have a good relationship with. It tells the story of the expectations that are put on Ada and her body as a young black woman and especially a first generation American. It flashes back and forth between her childhood and her arrival at college, and deals with several heavy topics such as sexual assault and toxic family relationships.
This book was beautifully told, and the verse format did an amazing job of conveying the feelings and emotions of events without bogging readers down in details and descriptions. The time jumps illustrated the way that childhood truly does spill into adulthood in ways we might not even recognize. Ada as a character was going through things that were relatable and will probably feel close to home for a lot of people, but are still unique to her own identity as a black woman and child of the parents she has.
Overall this was a beautiful story and I would definitely recommend.

Every Body Looking
By Candice Iloh

I enjoyed this book told entirely in verse. I found the writing refreshing and powerful I really enjoyed this read for the subject matter about Ada daughter of an immigrant father and an African American mother and her coming-of-age story as she finds her place and identity in society. In a non-linear approach story telling I found that this captivated my attention to Ada's story and the creative approach to this style of storytelling by Iloh.

I can definitely see why Every Body Looking was a finalist for National Book Award for young people's literature! Candice Iloh's verse is beautiful and heartbreaking, giving a strong voice to an amazing character. The book touches on many important topics for adolescent development such as identity, mental health, sexuality, and finding joy and one's place in the world.

I usually listen to novels in verse, because I find I absorb them better that way, but I read this one and it was stunning. Fans of Acevedo will rejoice when they pick up this book, but Iloh speaks with a voice all her own.

One of my first verse novels I've read and absolutely enjoyed. There are some heavy topics but it was well-done and the message behind the book is so prevalent nowadays. A must read book by a POC author!