Reviews

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

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magsbord's review

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bookrecsondeck's review against another edition

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It felt like it dragged on after the middle..interesting plot and I tried to keep reading to see what happened to her mother but it didn’t keep my attention

gabbyjo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

tafadhali's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

bookreviewswithkb's review against another edition

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reflective

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

this is a thought provoking young adult novel centering ideas of revolution at both the personal and the societal level, intersectionality, familial responsibility, and finding yourself. the main character is piecing through what it means to be both Black and a woman, in a world that oppresses both identities, as she comes into herself

kotareadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Nigeria Jones is the daughter of a radical black liberation revolutionary whose mother has disappeared and left behind wishes of her own for Nigeria. As her path seems to be pointing in several directions, Nigeria comes to learn what liberation means to her.

This was a bit of a miss for me. I thought the liberation was cool and could see the clear indoctrination, which was interesting, but it mostly felt like nothing actually happened in the book. It seemed like it was always ABOUT to happen, like it was building up. I was also VERY upset about what ended up happening to her mother. It felt like such a letdown. And with her seeing her mom all the time it’s a wonder nobody thought she was losing it.

It’s not like it was bad, I just didn’t think it was good. I was more entertained and interested in her dad’s rhetoric and revolution (ahem, cult) than anything else.

Also (spoiler alert) there was a completely unnecessary pregnancy scare.