Release: February 2nd 2021
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Back of the Book: When Nala Robertson reluctantly agrees to attend an open mic night for her cousin-sister-friend Imani’s birthday, she finds herself falling in instant love with Tye Brown, the MC. He’s perfect, except . . . Tye is an activist and is spending the summer putting on events for the community when Nala would rather watch movies and try out the new seasonal flavors at the local creamery.

In order to impress Tye, Nala tells a few tiny lies to have enough in common with him. As they spend more time together, sharing more of themselves, some of those lies get harder to keep up. As Nala falls deeper into keeping up her lies and into love, she’ll learn all the ways love is hard, and how self-love is revolutionary.

By Alex B.

I support women’s rights, but I also support women’s wrongs.

Love Is A Revolution is full of women’s wrongs, and I’ve chosen to stand by Nala Robertson every step of the way. Nala makes a lot of bad decisions and quite frankly, I was taken aback at how quickly she spun her web of lies. The only honest thing she said in those first few minutes of meeting Tye was her name.

Lying about being an activist to impress a guy? Questionable, but understandable. Lying about being a vegetarian? Really, Nala?

Nala lied so much, even I had a hard time keeping up with her. Lies aside, Nala was fun, adventurous, had great taste in music, and didn’t take herself too seriously. I liked following Nala’s journey because of how imperfect it was.

“I’m a pescatarian,” he tells me. “A what?” “I eat fish,” he says. “Oh yeah, me too,” I say. “So, you’re not a vegetarian?” I clear my throat. “I’m a vegetarian who’s sometimes a pescatarian.”

– page. 27

I connected with Nala on a lot of things, especially when it came to Imani and her cousin’s new life with Inspire Harlem. I love being black and being aware of the social and economic issues we face in the world is very important.

However, sometimes it’s okay to have fun and enjoy life. It’s okay to log off sometimes because being black, especially in America, can be very tiresome. One tweet or viral video can ruin your entire week. The guilt that comes with seeming as if you don’t care, when in reality you’re just tired and sad, is unimaginable. It’s even worse when you feel like you’re being judged by someone you love.

“There are always the words we said and the words we wished we said when it comes to the people we love.”

– page. 22

I loved Tye and Nala’s relationship. She forced him to have fun and take a break from trying to save the world. Their relationship was very adorable, and their emotional bond strong. It’s no wonder why Tye was willing to forgive Nala after finding uncovering the truth.

I was a little disappointed the book didn’t dig deeper into Nala’s strained relationship with her mom. I would’ve liked to see them talk things out, especially considering Nala moved out of her mother’s house to live with her aunt Ebony. I feel like their were aspects of both Nala and Tye’s life that could’ve been explored more.

Overall, I loved this book. It’s a fun read about discovering yourself and loving the person you are without pretending to be someone else, coupled with a sweet romance.

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