Book Review: “Like Home” by Louisa Onomé

“Like Home” by Louisa Onomé (2021)

Genre: Contemporary, YA, Fiction

Page Length: 416 pages (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and her memories of growing up there. Ginger East isn’t what it used to be, though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, all her closest friends moved away, except for Kate. But as long as they have each other, Nelo’s good.

Only, Kate’s parents’ corner store is vandalized, leaving Nelo 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.

Worse yet, Kate is acting 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. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

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.

TW: Violence

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.