I live for a good whodunit and this book was just that. It reminds me of Dear White People meets Ace of Spades. This is the kind of book that makes an amazing Netflix or Hulu series. It is definitely a page turner that I completed in one sitting.

I just finished Everyone's Thinking It. Too many characters for me. It was a 2 because the author tried to put too many issues in and too many characters with those issues!

The Black kids at a British boarding school have some stuff to work out between them, and some shit-stirring white kids are stirring some shit. There's a mystery in this story, but the real function of it is for cousins Iyanu and Kitan to rekindle their friendship after they join different social circles. This book has all the ingredients of a YA novel I'd love--racial, ethnic, and sexuality diversity; boarding school setting; nerds and jocks coming together, etc., but sadly, I didn't find it compelling.

Everyone’s Thinking It is an entrancing and enthralling read that I absolutely loved.

This is a dark academia thriller that grapples with racism, class and queerphobia, offering a variety of perspectives and three-dimensional characters that I adored. Iyanu and Kitan were characters that instantly had my heart. Their experience of being ostracised or forced to change to be ‘accepted’ was heart-wrenching and speaks to the romanticised ideas of Dark Academia that fails to address the institutional inequalities academia often upholds. This is a mystery that taps into the dark heart of the genre. I thought this was so well-executed, balancing immaculate plot, pacing and tension with these moments of internal reflection and commentary on the genre as a whole.

The way Omotoni weaves in the Shakespearean retelling is next-level as well. This is a loose retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and I definitely got that through the hazy narrative gloss, with the fairyland here being this unassailable place of immense privilege and status. It serves to heighten those tensions fraught with issues such as racism, classism and queerphobia. As a bit of a Shakespeare nerd, the little nods Omotoni placed in there were amazing for me to spot. I think this particular play has also been chosen as it is often seen as one of the queerest plays, but the racism in it is often disregarded. This epitomises how intersectionality is not seen as a focus in conversations around queerness, ignoring the lived experiences of queer people of colour in favour of neater categorisations. Everyone’s Thinking It defies this entirely, showing how different experiences of queerness and race are across people, with no one clear answer. Instead, it is a unique answer for every person. There is so much nuance and Omotoni sits in that, forcing the reader to sit and reflect as well.

Everyone’s Thinking It proves that YA contemporary and mysteries are not going anywhere, as long as these fierce, fresh and fantastic new stories keep getting told.

This booked focused on mental health, bring a minority in white spaces and lgbtq. I really liked how they discussed these things and while I will not experience some of them, it was a good learning experience for how people can feel in those situations. There was some high school related drama that was a bit much for me but overall enjoyed most of the characters.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. As a Shakespeare enthusiast, I enjoyed the weaving of the elements into the story. Unfortunately (and fortunately lol), I feel that this was an accurate portrayal of some teens. Some can be mean-spirited and entititled, some can be shy and unassuming, while others just want to exist in peace. Lots of representation (Nigerian MC in all white boarding schools---yes). Young adults will be able to find someone to relate to.

The only con is that I felt the pacing could've sped up a little. Trying to piece the mystery together took a little longer than I would've liked, but whodunnits aren't necessarily my fave.

What a crazy, entertaining read. This will be perfect for everyone who enjoys a good, thrilling YA book. The characters were great, they were definitely the strongest asset of this novel. If I had to complain about something: the pacing was a little off at times and the ending could have been better. But I'd still highly recommend it.

**4.25

This book definitely solidified my hatred of high school students. They’re so…evil. It was actually realistic how all of the characters are little shits who do terrible things that you kinda just move on from cause Teens Will Do Stupid Teen Stuff. Except, obviously, certain…people…who were so hilariously evil it was actually quite entertaining. I honestly didn’t expect to have this much fun because I’ve said before I don’t like YA, but the mix of me being on an eight hour plane ride with nothing to do and needing to read this definitely added up in my favor. It was great.

I have to point this out for transparency’s sake: three of the main/side (??? I can never tell the difference. All three are important to the plot but don’t get POV’s) characters are Cuban and Yes That Absolutely Might Have Affected My Rating A Little. It caught me by surprise and I really wasn’t expecting it so it was not on purpose!!! But I can’t help it that I suddenly enjoy a book more if it reminds me of my country. It’s who I am. Also it helped that all three of them were genuinely good people and likable and one of them was the main love interest (YESS).

All the other characters are…you gotta read it. Iyanu is unequivocally great. Like, she’s objectively the best person in this book. Kitan’s POV was very entertaining as she was caught right in the middle of that world. Both good main characters who guide the reader through an exploration of race, sexuality, and discovering one’s safe space when young.

This story starts off a little bit of a slow burner. It does take the story a little awhile to get started however I did enjoy the elements of race and self discovery within the story. With the story line being set in the UK I enjoyed the dialogue and culture of black kids in Europe. Overall it’s a simple and cozy mystery to piece together and enjoy.

This was pretty great. It was what I expected and also so much more. I definitely intend to read more from Aleema Omotoni in the future.

Thank you to Harper Collins for the arc in exchange for review.


this was a pretty fun read! I loved the alternating perspectives, however the ending kind of felt underwhelming. Throughout the story there’s all this buildup and ended up falling flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this book! The cover is beautiful and the mean girls comparison made me want to read it. There’s so much to unpack here and I appreciate everything that is talked about. I feel like this is an amazing debut and a powerful YA read. I feel like now more then ever people need to be aware of things that are happening in this book. I saw a lot of folks saying this was a loose Shakespeare retelling and it’s been so long since I saw the play I’ll have to refresh my memory.

This was a perfect “whodunit” where I was completely invested in the outcome. Iyanu is the type of girl who’s happiest behind the camera. After Iyanu’s Polaroids from a school event are stolen and distributed around school with secrets written on the back of them, she’s the obvious one to get blamed. Everyone is negatively affected by the prank and Iyanu and her friends have to figure out who is behind it.

You can’t help by fall in love with Kitan and Iyanu. I struggled in the beginning with Kitan and the way she was handling things. But thinking about it later, I understand why she did what she did. It isn’t right, but it’s understandable. Honestly the whole group was so adorable. I love (most of) the rugby boys and Oliver as well. They all had a fleshed out personality. And the couples! Quincy and Iyanu? Perfect. Jordan and Navin? Adorable.

Along with the sleuthing and mystery solving, there’s a lot of important messages. We have colorism, biphobia, just flat out racism, and learning to understand and embrace who you are and where you come from. Knowing that there’s no right or wrong way to be who you are. This is one of my favorite books in the past few months and I’ll be looking out for more from this author!

OH MY GOD!!!!!!! This book was mind blowing. I didn't want this book to end. This was by far my favorite book of the year.

This book tackles a lot - racism, colorism, sexism, biphobia, mental health, classism, just to name a few - but does so with such warmth and deftness and community the likes of which I haven't seen before, especially in a YA book.

Plot-wise, it's what it says on the tin, with the mystery doing double duty of repairing and reinforcing connections and relationships between all of the characters. It's really the sense of finding and building community that is the pillar of the book, of all the different ways people need community and the intersectionality of support systems, of all the ways people have to cover and hide under the weight of societal expectations and all the insidious ways systemic oppression is present. The wonderful thing is that it addresses all of these without it feeling overly heavy or hopeless and instead really works to give the characters ways to take back their agency while understanding why they may have made self-sabotoging choices in the first place.

It is very YA - the characters are very much teenagers, with teenage decision processes, which kept me from really connecting with it, but that's fine because I'm not the target age demographic. I can really see this striking home for those in the teen/early-20s range and leaving a great impact.

will start by saying this is. I definitely see why in the blurb it suggests Mean Girls meets Dear White People.

Everyone’s Thinking It is about two black girls, cousins Iyanu and Kitan and their chosen path at an all white boarding school. Kitan is in with the popular crew while her cousin, Iyanu, is forced on the outside. After the matchmaking event everybody is put on blast as photos from the event are leaked with a personal attack on the back and Iyanu is the prime suspect. Everyone’s Thinking It takes us on a week long journey of finding out who the real culprit behind the leaked photos and messages.

What I liked about this book was the plot and how the author discusses several meaningful topics such a racism, sexism, white privilege, black face, and biphobia (to name a few). Figuring out who leaked the pictures really kept me going. I had one person in mind the whole time, but I was completely thrown by the end results. What I also liked about this book was the character, Iyanu. I really felt for her the most because she didn’t deserve how her cousin did her. I also liked Iyanu because she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind when it counted and was definitely rooting for everything to work out for her in the end.

While I do think this was a great story that was well executed, it was very slow to grab my attention until literally the point with the photos. I didn’t exactly enjoy the ending but it pretty much aligned with the white privilege theme of this specific characters.

I would definitely recommend this book. I look forward to more from Aleema Omotoni.


Thank you Aleema Omotoni, Balzer + Bray and NetGalley for providing this complimentary eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book.

I really love the premise of this one, the book itself just isn't for me and that's okay. It is very much written for a YA audience, and I think I have outgrown that.

This book was such a creative way to address current world issues, like racism and sexism. I usually find that most books aren't geared towards those heavy topics while incorporating a good story but there are always firsts! While I loved the general idea behind this, the execution felt a little . . . off? It was like a spin off of 'One of Us is Lying', except no one dies. This book never really pulled me into the story the way my favorite ones do but if I got to go back in time and decide whether to read it, I still would. It sends a powerful message and makes the audience aware. It promotes so much change and inspiring ideas that I just want to jump out of my seat and scream at all the racist people out there. The characters were so inspiring, especially when reading from their point of view. Would I reread this? Probably not. Would I recommend this? For sure. This is a definite must for middle schoolers especially. I really think they can learn a lot from this story.

Thank you Balzer + Bray and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. This book is so good! Iyanu and Kitan are some of the only black girls attending their prestigious private school. Each of them approaches this differently, Iyanu prefers to be on the sidelines while Kitan hangs with the popular girls. After the dance someone still the pictures Iyanu took and posted secrets on the back, sending them around school. Unfortunately there’s only one person Iyanu knows would have access so she investigates to find out what’s going on? Who did it? I loved both Iyanu and Kitan! The story builds the tension and kept my engaged! Lots of twists and turns in this one, that will have you guessing! Also looks at racism, sexism, and homophobia. A great read for mystery lovers! Can’t wait to read it again.

Tackled the hard issues surrounding race, sexual orientation and belonging. That making space for yourself and giving yourself grace will go a long way in one’s journey of self discovery.