With Love, Miss Americanah
by Jane Igharo
High School    Feiwel    320 pp.
6/24    9781250873378    $20.99
e-book ed.  9781250873385    $11.99

A teenager newly arrived in the United States from Nigeria uses movies such as Sixteen Candles, Mean Girls, and Heathers to prepare for attending an American high school. Enore Adesuwa’s family immigrates just two months after the death of her father. Her younger sister appears to adjust more easily to life in a small town in New York’s Hudson Valley than Enore, who spends most of her time at home watching DVDs. These movies influence Enore to set ten rules about surviving in a U.S. high school; e.g., steer clear of the popular kids, “no crushes,” and avoid the spotlight, rules she breaks when her audition for the school musical goes viral. And rules or no rules, sparks fly during a chance encounter with cute Brazilian American boy Davi Santiago. Their friendship leads to an eventual romance, which helps Enore to deal with her grief. Davi also helps the protagonist handle her fear of disappointing her mother, who is pressuring her to follow in her footsteps and become a doctor. Igharo deftly handles the excitement, intensity, and confusion surrounding young love as well as the mountain of emotions one goes through when mourning a loved one, through characters who are relatable and genuine. A highly entertaining and heartwarming story with a couple to root for.

From the ">September/October 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.