This reminded me of the musical In the Heights and Angie Thomas’s books.

When a brick is thrown through the window of the Ginger Store, which is like a second home to Chinelo (or Nelo), it threatens to change her world forever. Now, her best friend Kate’s family, who run the store, may sell it and move from their lower-income neighborhood, Ginger East. Nelo and Kate are the only two left in their group of friends, and Nelo worries that she’ll be left all alone. She launches a quest to prove that the brick was thrown by an outsider, not someone from the neighborhood. The incident also brings some of their childhood friends back, as everyone has a different reaction. This was a book about the ties we have to our communities.

Onomé isn’t afraid to have her characters show complicated emotion and challenge each other on their perceptions of the world. We have Nelo, who fiercely loves her neighborhood just as it is, and ends up on TV for it. Then the boys, Bo and Rafa, who left but still have ties to the area. This book tackles tough topics like gentrification and exploitation and the judgement low-income communities face from the outside world.

I also loved that Kate and Nelo’s friendship faced challenges, and none of the characters were perfect. But in the end, their love for each other wins. It was also great to see Nigerian rep in a young adult book.

It was powerful to see how each of the residents and former residents of Ginger East reacted to the changes in their neighborhood.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book. It's about a girl named Nelo who grew up in a neighborhood where everything is changing but she doesn't want it to change. One day her best friend's family story gets vandalized and now everyone thinks that the neighborhood is a bad place for kids and Nelo is scared her best friend might leave. See how Nelo tried to get the town back on track to show that her hometown is still the same as she was younger.

I enjoyed the writing of the book with the setting story plotline. The author did a wonderful job of bringing heartbreak and love into the story. The messages that the author was sent to the readers were well received. I enjoyed the mix of cultures in this book and learning a little about it. Apart I didn't enjoy about the book was the pacing. I thought the pacing was slow at times. Other than that I thought the writing was well done.

This book is from Nelo's point of view. I didn't enjoy her character as much as sometimes I would get annoyed when she thought everything was about her. In my opinion, I think she didn't have a huge character development compared to the others. For the side characters, I loved them all. I thought they were well written and I enjoyed how adults were involved in the story. There is also some romance in this book which was cute and made me awe.

The ending was well-done kind of but it felt a little rush. I did have some problems with this book but I think most of them are just be like the main character. Overall I think this was a well-written book that showed you should fight for what you believe in and about friendships. I recommend this book to fans of Angie Thomas and those who love books about friendships.

Nelo is resistant to change - she's reluctant to accept her maturing body, is frustrated by changing friendship dynamics, and hates the gentrification going on in her neighborhood that is pricing long time residents out of their apartments. When a brick is thrown through the window of the local corner store, Nelo's anxiety about the future of her neighborhood amplifies.

Like Home is sure to strike a chord with its target audience; realistic teen dialogue and emotions will make the cast of characters relatable. Despite being 16, Nelo and friends do read younger than their age which may annoy older readers, making this a better recommendation to tweens and younger teens. The writing is compulsively readable and the story is well paced. Discussions around gentrification, economic status and mobility, and activism make this a timely read. An unnecessary romance detracts from an otherwise important story about the inevitable changes (body, friendship, neighborhood) that come with growing up.

Like Home follows the story of Chinelo who lives in Ginger East, a tight knit neighborhood full of a vibrant community. Even though the neighborhood is fallen on hard times she loves the people, even though a lot has changed over the years. When friends move away, box stores open up, and rent increases she realizes the neighborhood is slowly being stripped at its core.

As a break-in occurs in Chinelo’s neighborhood the limelight is shifted onto Ginger East and not in a good way. People start to lump together the community as a whole and the media starts portraying it as a broken down and unsafe space. I appreciated how this book tackles the topics of gentrification, negative press, and small communities and how they all intersect. People love their homes and its painful to see these types of communities destroyed. Chinelo decides that its time to take a stand to these issues.

“I don’t want to think of Ginger East as a place where everything changes. It’s my home, and it’s never gotten so new and shiny that I haven’t ever been able to recognize it. That’s impossible. I’ll always recognize this place.”

In between all of the neighborhood changes this story at its core is about growing up and life’s obstacles. Change is inevitable, but Chinelo sees how the changes are negatively affecting every one and decides to stand up and do something about it. She also becomes reconnected with childhood friends that have changed. Its a story about standing up for what you believe in.

Chinelo has a strong resistance to change. I feel like I and other readers can relate to her narrative. We can hang on to nostalgia and the good times because it makes us feel comfortable. But if we never confront change, how will we grow? Some change is good and some is bad, but learning to accept the change or taking it head on is one of life’s greatest challenges.

I enjoyed this story thoroughly and it had a lot of heart. It’s a good story about growing up and reflecting while also touching on issues of race and gentrification. It’s incredibly heartfelt and makes for a great YA read.

Nelo likes her neighborhood the way it is -- filled with friends, a mix of immigrant families, and a comfortable neighborhood store where she can hang out with her best friend Kate. But when a shiny new store moves into the neighborhood and her friend Kate's store is vandalized, things change, from her sense of ease to her friendships with Kate and old friends from the neighborhood. Nelo is inadvertently thrust into the spotlight with a viral video and life changes even more. This is a moving story about navigating friendships, a crush, and the changing landscapes of home and neighborhood.

Like Home was definitely a book with an important conversation. Louisa's story of a girl from a small town experiencing her community pushed out of their homes is a story of gentrification that happens still to this day. I fully enjoyed Nelo's voice as a protagonist -- she was easily likable and had a strong personality. Because we were seeing everything from Nelo's perspective, I feel like we didn't get as much from other characters although I enjoyed Kate and Rafa very much. There were some pacing issues as the conflict comes into play about 10-20% into the book but there wasn't much going on until another 20% in. Maree's character was interesting as it shows the performative activism that many of our youth do nowadays and gives us the perspective of the real victims -- it shows that we may think that we are helping but we aren't. This book was a good read that I definitely recommend. Louisa Onome creates an important book for everyone to learn and enjoy.

i havent finished a book in one sitting in a while omg! this sucked me in since the first page. you get immersed in ginger east and its community. while i think nelo was very naive and annoying, she was also portrayed as a realistic teenager.

i should have seen the ''twist'' coming, but it surprised me still.

the friendships in this book were so real and kinda relatable?

more to come in my final review, for the book tour!

thank you to the publisher for the advance reading copy!

1.5 stars
I wanted more but ended up disappointed.

Onome's writing style was very palatable and makes Like Home a quick read. Bringing together a diverse cast of characters Like Home exposes readers to diverse class types and ethnicities. ALSO the cover the Like Home goes hard, props to the artist! I loved the chain mail WhatsApp messages that Nelo's dad would send her all the time. It was very relatable to me. The theme of gentrification are important to learn and bring awareness to so I appreciated it in Like Home . I also loved how Chinelo went to bat for her community and how she longed to keep it together.

sigh now for the negative. Chinelo was the most annoying character; too childish for 16. I could believe if she was in middle school or something but 16 !!. The friendship between Kate and Chinelo was cute but it didn't seem real! Why was Kate dodging her all the time and couldn't confide in her for the most basic things. Also "the big reveal" was not that shocking, I guess it early on and wasn't surprised by the end. Chinelo was very selfish, not bothering to think about other people's feelings. All of the characters were two one dimensional and needed something to flesh them out more. (ALSO ALSO why why would a big 16-year-old be afraid of a BRA, A FLIPPING BRA)

The romance in Like Home was truly unnecessary and there to add to the drama and emotional turmoil of the characters. The plot, THE ENTIRE PLOT , was saying and no showing. The characters would say something but we, the readers, never got to see it. Also, these kids were always at school but never in school, doing homework or in-class.... The setting would bounce all over the place but there seemed to be no solid pushing of the plot forward. The plot seemed to drag for forever until the very end. Like Home seemed like a showing of gentrification more than a novel centred around gentrification. Like Home was very plot centered.

Thank you to Netgalley, HearOurVoicesBookTour, and Harper Collins for the ARC.

Overall a strong debut about family, friendship, and what makes a place home.

I was highly anticipating this book after the comparisons to Elizabeth Acevedo’s work. While the writing style is different, I did see some similar themes in this story. I definitely thought the book gained momentum as it went and ended on a strong note, with deep and important themes addressed. The cast is wonderfully diverse, and the neighborhood is so vivid it feels like a character.

Personally, I felt that the story would have been stronger if the first half of the book was tightened up and trimmed a bit. After the halfway point I found myself much more invested. I think this was largely because the main character Nelo is so stuck in not wanting to deal with change that the scenes became a bit repetitive at time and she didn’t seem to be changing or growing. At times the characters felt a little younger than their ages, and that too much of the story rested on miscommunication. That being said, I really appreciated the heart of the story and the focus on what makes a place home.

On the whole I think this story will appeal to a lot of readers and brings in an important perspective and voice.

This was amazing none the less. I am obsessed and I can’t wait to read more by this author. I was shocked to find out this was a debut. This author crushed it.

I really, really wanted to love LIKE HOME but called it a DNF @ 30%.

The premise is great: what happens when a young Nigerian girl sees her neighborhood gentrify, which has the side effect of jeopardizing her friendships? Teenage friendships, especially between girls, can be so intense and complex, and the added layer of how gentrification would affect them seemed really interesting.

However, I could not get invested in the characters or the plot. It was a slow read and it felt like there was more emphasis on commenting on gentrification (which is totally valid) than on building the plot or characters. I feel like this is an idea that would have worked better as a short story, or maybe an anthology where we get a different chapter from a perspective of a different community member.

I hope this book finds an audience & success but it wasn't for me.

Well-written with teenage characters who felt their age and dialed into the challenges typical to exploring who they are, Like Home was a decent read. I felt like the book would've done better to explore more of why Chinelo felt close to the Tran family besides growing up with them. Did she feel they made up for her lack of seeing her extended family on a regular basis? Did she have a desire to have a more direct father presence in her life? At times, especially given the primary conflict of this story being her disconnect from her best friend, it felt like we heard more about the nature of her relationship with Kate Tran than we actually saw what made them best friends in the first place - outside of proximity and familiarity.

Although I would've appreciated and think the book would benefit from further introspection of these relationships and what it means to the main character, Chinelo, I think that it did well in defining her compulsion to do something for her neighborhood by speaking up. Could be a good read for teens trying who need an entry point for understanding gentrification and the complexities surrounding it.

Like Home by Louisa Onome follows Nelo who loves her neighborhood, Ginger East. When Nelo's best friend Kate's parents' corner store is vandalized, Nelo is shaken to her core. The police and the media are quick to point fingers, and soon more of the outside world descends on Ginger East with promises to "fix" it. Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale. Kate also begins to act strange. She's pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Nelo's entire world is morphing into something she hates, and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything⁠—and everyone⁠—she loves.

I loved the message of this book and reading about topics such as gentrification in a YA book. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with any of the characters and I felt like most of the conflict in this book came from people not communicating with each other, which is a pet peeve of mine in books.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

~ Why does it seem like the older you get, the more everything changes and the more miserable you are? And nothing stays the same. Not one thing. ~

This one took a while to find its legs, but by the end I was thoroughly invested and really charmed.

I thought this was going to be a straightforward story about gentrification, wrapped up in young adult packaging, and I was totally on board for that. It's an important message and I enjoy the fact that it's being written for teens. I also loved that all of our main characters were the children of immigrants; it's an unspoken commonality that binds them all together, together with the neighbourhood that they share. And if that was all the novel was going to be about, I think I've have been satisfied?

But after a while (and if I have a complaint, it's that it was after a long while; idk if I'm just used to different pacing, but it felt like it took so long before we started exploring things beyond the surface level) things got deeper. This is a story about loving where you're from, the fierce pride that can grow out of a neighbourhood; the outrage and fear when people on the outside see the place you love as something different and ugly; the confusion and frustration when not everyone who lives there feels the same way you do. Nelo is young and idealistic and a little naïve and so fierce, and she was the perfect vehicle for his story. Things got messy, and there were a few conversations that came up that I just wasn't expecting to see in this book, and made the experience even better.

I also just love stories about friendships; how they can change over time and how we deal with that. I loved the friend group in this (though I was a little disappointed that it mostly focused on three of the characters we see on the cover) and I especially loved their text chains? Something about it was just pitch perfect, and exactly how you'd expect friends who've know each other for so long to talk to each other.

This was a great debut; different in all the best ways. It's far from being typical YA read, and I definitely recommend it.

I loved the way Louisa wrote Ginger East -- the neighborhood was absolutely my favorite part of this book. It is a quintessential YA novel in that some of Chinelo's decisions drove me nuts, but I was OK with it because hello, she's a teenager! This is a sweet story about growth and change and adaptation.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

From something as small as a new bra to the gentrification of her neighborhood, Nelo was fighting changes to her world. But when a violent act strikes one of her own, she might finally have to face all the change head-on.

As someone who grew up in a neighborhood I am now priced out of, I could relate to Nelo's fears of displacement and gentrification. She understood that Ginger East wasn't built around stores or buildings. It was the people, who were the heart of this community, and that showed when they banded together to support one of their own and to repair damage done.

Onomé assembled a great cast of characters. I loved seeing Nelo and her childhood friends, who had left the neighborhood, reunited. They shared a deep history and a traumatic experience, which I think bound them for life. But they also had a different perspective on things, because they left Ginger East, and we all know about distance, time, and perspective.

Though Nelo fought tooth and nail to keep things the same, she could not stop the tide of change taking place in her neighborhood or her life. I thought her journey was very authentic. She was a bit angsty, but I understood where those feelings were coming from.

I do wish the story had been told from multiple points of view or perhaps trimmed a bit, because parts felt redundant. I also would have liked to have seen Nelo grow more, and there were some loose ends that left me wanting.

Overall, I think people will appreciate the social issues in this story and will welcome Nelo's fresh and genuine voice, as well as her unflinching loyalty to her community.

Book Review for Like Home by Louisa Onome
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

I was drawn in by the awesome cover. I found Nelo and Kate’s friendship was so authentic. It reminded me of how friendships growing up can change so much. I also liked the community in this book and how it played into the story. I twas a great read and I want to read more by this author.

Set in Toronto, this is a book that beautifully captures all the hard of changing--changing bodies, families, friendships, neighborhoods, hearts, and homes. ⁠It would make an excellent addition to any classroom/library.

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
I wanted to like this story more than I did as the premise was solid and the plotline offers a look into the reality for many. However, Onome unfolds the story painfully slowly as readers see the main character, Chinelo, struggling to keep everything as it is and ignore all changes. This applies to her own body changes as well as seeing her neighborhood through realistic eyes. I had a difficult time liking her as a character and grew impatient with her at various points as she refused to acknowledge other people's viewpoints nor listen to their needs and thoughts. The other characters were relatively flat though readers do see more revealed about them as the story develops. Readers will identify with the various teenagers and their choices for themselves as well as the choices forced on them by life. The struggles for this age group can be exacerbated by poverty and Onome captures that aspect well.