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Staff Pick
A summer romance and a young woman’s journey to self-acceptance; what’s not to love? Watson has created a beautiful, charming, and relatable main character in Nala. Through the ups and downs with family and her new boyfriend, I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in her world. Recommended By Jennifer H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Award-winner Renée Watson’s love story about not only a relationship but how a girl finds and falls in love with who she really is.
When Nala Robertson attends an open mic night for her cousin Imani’s birthday, she finds herself falling in instant love with Tye Brown, an activist who is spending the summer putting on events for the community. Nala would rather watch movies and try out new flavors at the local creamery. In order to impress Tye, Nala tells a few tiny lies to have more in common with him. When they spend time together, some of the lies get harder to keep up. But as Nala falls deeper into keeping up her lies and into love, she’ll learn all the ways love is hard, and how self-love is revolutionary.
In Love Is a Revolution, plus size girls are beautiful and get the guys, the girl clique is not shallow but has convictions, and the ultimate love story is showing radical love to the people in your life, including to yourself.
Review
"A delightful, joyous coming-of-age tale that features dynamic characters and a sweet romance, and it doesn't shy away from weighty social and political topics, all the while spinning the magic of Black Girl Joy." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"One of the most radical things a Black girl can do is know that she is both worthy of love and deserving of joy. In Love Is a Revolution, Watson takes us on Nala's journey to claim her right to decide who she wants to be in a world that so often tries to fit Black girls into metaphorical boxes. It is deftly crafted, big-hearted, beautiful, funny, honest, and inspiring." Nicola Yoon, award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star
Review
"Reading a Renée Watson novel is like having an intimate conversation with a friend (or, in this case, a cousin-sister-friend). Love Is a Revolution is a powerful look at a young Black girl's journey to self-acceptance in all facets of her life, and a beautiful example of how communities become family." Brandy Colbert, award-winning author of The Voting Booth
Review
"An absolutely stunning novel. Renée Watson does not miss." Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Poet X
About the Author
Renée Watson is a New York Times bestselling author. Her novel Piecing Me Together received a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award. Her books include Watch Us Rise, co-written with Ellen Hagan, Piecing Me Together, This Side of Home, and What Momma Left Me, as well as the middle grade novels Ways to Make Sunshine, Some Places More Than Others, and Betty Before X, co-written with Ilyasah Shabazz. She is also the author of two picture books: Harlem's Little Blackbird and A Place Where Hurricanes Happen. She lives in New York City.