Every Body Looking, Candice Iloh
Every Body Looking, Candice Iloh
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Every Body Looking

Author: Candice Iloh

Narrator: Candice Iloh

Unabridged: 2 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/22/2020


Synopsis

A Finalist for the National Book Award

When Ada leaves home for her freshman year at a Historically Black College, it’s the first time she’s ever been so far from her family—and the first time that she’s been able to make her own choices and to seek her place in this new world. As she stumbles deeper into the world of dance and explores her sexuality, she also begins to wrestle with her past—her mother’s struggle with addiction, her Nigerian father’s attempts to make a home for her. Ultimately, Ada discovers she needs to brush off the destiny others have chosen for her and claim full ownership of her body and her future.

“Candice Iloh’s beautifully crafted narrative about family, belonging, sexuality, and telling our deepest truths in order to be whole is at once immensely readable and ultimately healing.”—Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times Bestselling Author of Brown Girl Dreaming

“An essential—and emotionally gripping and masterfully written and compulsively readable—addition to the coming-of-age canon.”—Nic Stone, New York Times Bestselling Author of Dear Martin

“This is a story about the sometimes toxic and heavy expectations set onthe backs of first-generation children, the pressures woven into the familydynamic, culturally and socially. About childhood secrets with sharp teeth. And ultimately, about a liberation that taunts every young person.” —Jason Reynolds, New York Times Bestselling Author of Long Way Down

About The Author

Candice Iloh is a first-generation Nigerian American writer whose books center home. They are from the Midwest by way of Washington, DC, and Brooklyn, New York. They are a proud alumna of the Rhode Island Writers Colony, and their work has earned fellowships from Lambda Literary, VONA, and Kimbilio Fiction and a residency with Hi-ARTS, where they debuted their first one-person show in 2018. Candice became a 2020 National Book Award Finalist and, in 2021, a Printz Award Honoree for their debut novel, Every Body Looking. Salt the Water is their third novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kai on February 21, 2021

Ever since The Black Flamingo and Blood Water Paint I'm a sucker for verse novels which is why I'm super hyped for this book......more

Goodreads review by Bookishrealm on July 30, 2021

Every Body Looking is one of those books that reads quickly but packs a hell of a punch and makes you feel everything in your body and soul for the main character. This is also one of those books that is so traumatic that I can't say that I "enjoyed" it, but it is a story that needed to be told. Ever......more

Goodreads review by Melanie (mells_view) on September 22, 2020

that I’m too loud too much too free Every Body Looking is sort of a coming of age and coming into yourself while also trying to live up to family expectations and cultural expectations. I have actually never read a story like this written in verse, and while it took me a minute to really catch on to th......more

Goodreads review by Claude's on February 02, 2023

2.5 Stars This tackled some important issues but for me it lacked depth and felt unfinished. I have read a huge number of verse novels and prefer the language to be more lyrical than in this novel. I'd like to read the book to see if the layout of the words creates more impact than the audiobook whic......more

Goodreads review by Tori on December 17, 2020

I'm beginning to truly love books written in verse.......more


Quotes

A Finalist for the National Book Award
A Michael L. Printz Award Honoree
One of Reader's Digest's 50 Best YA Novels of All Time

"Candice Iloh's beautifully crafted narrative about family, belonging, sexuality, and telling our deepest truths in order to be whole is at once immensely readable and ultimately healing."—Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling author of Brown Girl Dreaming

"An essential—and emotionally gripping and masterfully written and compulsively readable—addition to the coming-of-age canon."—Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin

"I can't remember the last time I read a story that stood this effortlessly at the axis of so many slivers of young American life. To show complexity without box-checking, and empathy without melodrama, to me, makes this a story with legs, and Iloh a writer to watch." —Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down

“This blazing coming-of-age comet will have everybody looking up.”—New York Times

"Lyrical, insightful, and searing."—Teen Vogue

“[Iloh] makes a stunning debut with this brilliant coming-of-age tale.”—Buffalo News

"[A portrait] of a young woman struggling with issues both universal — wanting to be liked, to feel seen, to make a friend — and specific to the experiences of a Black woman and child of immigrants.... [T]riumphant."—Vox

★ "
In this stunning debut for young adults, Iloh crafts succinct, beautiful poems to illustrate the difficulties of navigating the tangle of family history and obligation, the power of art to heal and express, and the strength it takes to chart an authentic, independent path."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "This book is a testament to the beauty of Black girls, their circumstances, bodies, and cultures."—Booklist, starred review

★ "Iloh uses verse beautifully…[A] captivating, sometimes heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful story."—Kirkus, starred review

"Every Body Looking is a powerful acknowledgement of what we gain when we grant ourselves permission to embrace who we are fully and completely."—BookPage

"A hopeful, beautifully written, deeply affecting story of what we endure and overcome in the journey to become ourselves."—Teen Librarian Toolbox

“Readers will be left wishing they could accompany Ada as she pursues her passion and finds her way to a genuine relationship, while left hopeful and inspired by her beautifully-told story.”—SLJ

A Feminist Book Project Top Ten Title


Awards

  • National Book Award Finalist