Description:
Teenager Fechi Ajala’s parents decide to transplant the family from Enugu, Nigeria to a quiet town in England for a better life. Between the culture shock, loneliness, homesickness, and endless pressure to fit in, Fechi’s hard put to find the better in British life.
However, things soon look up when she spies gorgeous schoolmate Max, who’s half Nigerian, half British. Surely, he understands her predicament of feeling like a duck out of water and will help her settle into British school life. But when Max’s cousin Darren shows a keen interest in her, Fechi’s not sure which way to turn. What’s a girl to do?
What Had Me Jonesing
- This book took me back and gave me ALL the feels. Fechi embodies all the angst, excitement, loneliness, longing, and possibilities our teenage years.
- How Amaka Azie wove in the troubled family life of Fechi. The move and its pressures. The changing dynamics and roles of her parents. How they coped…or didn’t.🫤 And how it affected Fechi and her brother. Brilliant, because we all have stories like this.
- I’m not a YA kinda girl. I like my romance steamy. But Amaka Azie had me right from the beginning and held on with a chokehold. Magnificent storytelling chops. So, yeah. Maybe I am a YA kinda girl.
- I really couldn’t predict which way Fechi would go between Darren and Max. I LOVED that, even as it was maddening.
What Struck Me
- That picture though!!! I can’t describe it …. spoilers and all. But that pic also took me back to my 17-year-old self and my dad’s advice when heading off to Spelman College. I will write about it sometime.
- How I kept wondering what the connection to the title was … and then, it dropped. Didn’t see that coming. 😍
- I moved as an adult from New York City to Hamburg, Germany. Even as an adult, nothing prepares you for the change. So, yeah, that came up for me, too.
Tropes
- Coming of Age
- Dysfunctional Family
- Caught between two boys
Bottom Line
If you saw my Instagram/Facebook reel, you know this book dropped while I was already reading Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola. So I was reading them together … yeah, I’m a literary polygamist. 😜 But somewhere along the way, I settled down with The Girl in the Picture. This book was all that, y’all.
But that don’t mean I’m choosing monogamy, because I’m sure to tip on out for a rendevous with Honey and Spice in a few minutes. 😍
Here’s my character meme for the book:
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