I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/9/23
Genres: Contemporary, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 379
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.
Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe.
As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.
Short and Sweet Review
Nigeria has been raised by her father who is a social justice warrior. He has a Movement that is a black separatist group in Philadelphia. Nigeria runs the youth group for her dad and leads rituals that connect group members to their ancestors. The only thing missing in Nigerias life is her mom, who she’s sure is coming back. When Nigeria learns that her mom wanted a different life for her she starts to question everything she’s learned. Nigeria also learns that her mom wanted to enroll her in a private Quaker school so Nigeria goes to honor her mothers wishes. Everything changes when Nigeria gets to experience a little freedom and wonders if everything she’s learned in the movement is right.
I have very conflicting feelings about this book. Nigeria was raised in a household where their beliefs are taken very seriously, so to see her go to this new school and interact with people who weren’t black was painful. She also holds out hope that her mom is coming back so there was a little mystery about where her mom was and why she would have left the movement in the first place. Nigeria goes to school with an old friend Sage and her cousin Kamau. Nigeria’s dad doesn’t want her going to school, she’s been homeschooled her whole life, but Nigeria knows she needs to go because this is what her mom wanted. There was a lot of layers to this book and I found myself frustrated at some points because they take the movement so seriously and I understand I’m all about making changes but it got too intense and it was crazy. Whenever they talked about the movement, I felt like I was at a black panther meeting, it was almost like Judas and the Black Messiah. Anyway Nigeria and her dad find themselves most of the book and I just felt myself rooting for her to get out from under him and just make a way for herself and experience the world for herself so she can make decisions instead of having them made for her.
The ending makes up for the rest of the book and I was glad to see Nigeria kind of become her own woman. The whole thing with her mom was pretty shocking and I wasn’t ready for it. This book made me really stop and think about my own experiences being black and a woman and I get how Nigeria was raised but I’m glad that I was able to know my history and not having that experience be so restrictive. I enjoyed following Nigeria during her journey even though at some points it was hard but in the end it was rewarding.
