This was such a delightful book full of humor and culture, I loved the perspective the author brought from her personal experiences to the story. I thought it was humorous with a lot of heart!

With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo is a poignant and thought-provoking romance that explores themes of identity, love, and cultural heritage. The narrative follows a young Nigerian woman navigating her relationships and aspirations while grappling with the complexities of life in a new country. Igharo’s writing is both engaging and insightful, capturing the nuances of immigrant experiences and the quest for belonging. This novel beautifully balances romance with deeper social commentary, making it a compelling read for those interested in contemporary love stories infused with cultural richness.

Enore, her sister Esosa, and their mother moved from Nigeria to the United States after the girls’ father died. They’re living with their father’s brother while managing their grief, and the girls’ mother is studying to get her medical license in the United States. On top of it all, the girls have to figure out how to thrive in an American high school.

But Enore has a plan: she spends the weeks before school starts watching as many teen movies as she can, creating a list of ten rules to follow in order to be successful in high school. But when she meets the hazel-green-eyed Davi before class even starts on the first day, she’s well on her way to breaking Rule #1: Avoid interacting with or befriending anyone who is popular.

When Davi convinces Enore to try out for the school musical, Rule #3—Don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself—is demolished, and between Davi and the musical, the rest of the rules (especially the one about no boys) are quick to follow. But by being cast in the musical, Enore discovers a passion for musical theater that she’s desperate to follow, despite her mom’s determination that she become a doctor.

It’s not long before Enore’s hiding a lot of things from her mom, and it’s only a matter of time before it all catches up to her.

This was such a charming read full of teen movie tropes—it’s got romance, reflection on the concept of race in America, and a lot of encouragement to pursue your passions, even if you have to break some rules to do it. There are a couple instances of profanity, but we’d feel comfortable recommending this breezy read to a wide range of students.

Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Feiwel and Friends for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Review will be posted at https://threeheads.works/category/blog/ya-books/ on October 28, 2024.

I really enjoyed this YA read. I loved the timeless American pop culture references seen from a new point of view. This book does a great job at showing what someone new to America might assume or not know and I appreciated being in her shoes. The characters she meets, the struggles with her mom/grief culture felt very real. I really enjoyed her journey!

One of my most highly anticipated audio and book of 2024! And boy oh boy did it not let me down!!!! I just absolutely love Jane Igharo’s writing. So happy to have been able to read and listen to this one.

As a Nigerian American, this story hit different. It's also rare to see Edo girls in Nigerian stories to this was so amazing to read. Great story overall!

I really loved this coming of age, quirky new girl romance. I loved the pop culture references to all of the good romcoms and teen movies especially the references to mean girls and sixteen candles. I usually don’t gravitate towards ya romances, but this one was just so cute. I love the touch on grief with her father and strained relationship with her mother.

Enore moves to America from Nigeria with her family, grieving her father's death. She uses teen movies to guide her through high school with strict rules, but meeting Davi challenges her to break free and embrace her talents, despite her mother's expectations.

I did not expect this book to be so full of poignant descriptions of grief and the challenges that come through grieving as a teen, but here we are! It had me tearing up and feeling punched in the stomach. But it also had me laughing and sighing dreamily and remembering my first trip to NYC. And my first broadway musical.

I love Enore’s relationship with her sister. I loved how she and Davi came together. Their meet cute was great! Her thoughts about teen movies were fantastic but I definitely felt old when people in the book didn’t know them!!

Such a sweet and beautiful story about following your dreams and taking chances.

*I was provided a digital copy of this book by the publisher for review. All thoughts are my own.*

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

This was published a bit ago..whoops...but I really enjoyed the premise of this novel being about Enore having to deal with culture shock from moving to America while also finding her voice to stand up for herself. Her family is dealing with grief from losing her father, and it also influences how she ends up finding herself. I do think some of the novel is unrealistic, but overall I enjoyed it. I also like how Enore apparently watched ALL of the movies about American High School to prepare and continuously will quote them or reference them to explain what's going on.

Loved this book! I can’t wait to add it to my classroom library. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse of Nigerian culture and watching the characters transition from their homeland to finding their place in America. I also enjoyed the storyline of Esadore battling between her mother’s wishes for her future and finding her true happiness and interests. I think this is a great story many youth and young adults can relate to in some way.

After reading all of Jane Igharo's other novels, I was super excited to see that she had written a new book & was extra happy when I received the approval from Netgalley to read this.

This is Jane Igharo's young adult debut novel. It centers around Enore and her move to America.
Enore's family has immigrated from Nigeria to NY her last year of high school. To prepare herself for American high school, she has watched every teen movie imaginable & made a list of rules to keep herself on the straight & narrow until graduation. However, she meets Davi Santiago & her rules get pushed aside.
Enore finds herself doing things she wouldn't have done in Nigeria; making new friends that aren't the type she would normally befriend & she finds her passion.

So I enjoyed this book, but it definitely reads like a YA novel.
It's super cute but there were parts that Enore really annoyed me; her mother annoyed me & just everything about their relationship ANNOYED me.
There were parts of the book that dragged on a bit to me, but I did enjoy the ending.

Overall, it's a super cute book & if you are a fan of Jane Igharo you'll enjoy this! & if you have never read her work, but like cute love stories (with a bit of drama) you'll enjoy this as well.

This was such an adorable read!

With Love, Miss Americanah was such a cute, easy read that I would recommend it to any teen. Due to a busy schedule, I did have a hard time getting settled in the novel, but once I did, I was able to fly through the novel quickly. The novel has such an interesting premise as it tells the story of 17-year-old Enore, who had recently moved from Nigeria to America after experiencing the loss of her father. I thought that the culture shock she experienced, alongside other moments of first love and finding yourself as a teenager were handled quite well. The side characters, such as Enore's sister, Esosa, were also developed and crafted very well, causing me to also be drawn to them. I would definitely read this again!

Thank you NetGalley and Feiwei & Friends for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

This idea of a Nigerian girl trying to navigate a new space and American high school via the lense of American teen comedies was so different and cute. I am a fan of Jane's adult writing and this one didn't miss either.

Oh my YA contemporary loving heart! Jane Igharo’s adult fiction I have adored so to be able to read an early copy of her debut YA was a treat!

A brief look at what your in for… 17 year old Enore has just moved to America from Nigeria to America with her sister and mom. They are staying with her wealthy Uncle, Aunt and cousin. To prepare for her first day of American high school she watches classic teen movies… my absolute kryptonite! Her first day and throughout the course of the book she references cult classic moments from The Craft, Clueless, She’s all That and many more. Perfection!

With all the fun and nostalgia the book touches upon grief, first love, parental approval and standing up for yourself and finding you own voice.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Thank you Feiwel & Friends
Releases 6/18

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After her father's death, Enore and her family move from Nigeria to a small town in New York. To prepare herself for her senior year of American high school, she watches her cousin's old teen movies on an ancient DVD player. From these movies, she creates a list of rules to follow, like never attract attention to yourself, avoid the popular kids, don't make any enemies, etc. etc. She becomes a bit of a recluse, until she meets Davi, one of the only other people of color at their school (his parents immigrated from Brazil). Though there is a romance, this book is mainly about Enore's journey to finding herself and creating her own path. She discovers and nurtures a passion for singing and theater, and for the first time, it dawns on her that she could do this for a living; she doesn't have to be a doctor like her mother wants.

This book deals with the grief of suddenly losing a parent and the culture shock of moving from a country where you are in the majority to a country/town where you are the minority, having to now deal with racism and bigotry and microaggressions for the first time. It also contends with the difficulties of multicultural dating. Because they grew up in such different cultures, Enore and Davi sometimes have trouble communicating and understanding each other. Davi doesn't understand why Enore can't just pursue her passion instead of conforming to her mother's demands.

Enore, her sister Esosa, and their mother were such layered and complex characters that other side characters fell a bit flat. I didn't feel the romantic connection between Enore and Davi, though I liked them both as individual characters (Esosa stole the show, though, in my opinion!). I liked that Davi pushed Enore to be her true self and find happiness after loss, but it felt like he was just a plot device or means to an end. His backstory felt a little rushed and incomplete.

The ending felt rushed. I didn't like the time jump, because it completely skipped over <spoiler>the decision to stay in America.</spoiler>

I'm glad I read this book, and I think Jane Igharo has filled a much needed gap in young adult (and adult!) fiction with the cultural conversations she covers.

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends for the advanced copy of this book!