The Nigerian-Canadian experience from a YA angle

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YA fiction is often about the protagonist experiencing profound growth as they form and articulate their identity as demonstrated by events and experiences as well as evolving relationships. Twice as Perfect brings us the Nigerian-Canadian perspective as we follow high-achieving and ambitious Ada (aka Sophie) codeswitching between her Nigerian family and community and her non-Nigerian school/friendships. There are typical adolescent happenings (a big debate tournament, a school assignment that takes Ada outside her comfort zone, her interest in a couple boys from school) but there's also some things that are much bigger or grander (her cousin's wedding to a major Nigerian music superstar, the disownment of her older brother by their parents). Throughout the book, we're immersed in the vibrant Nigerian immigrant community through snippets of conversation, foods, and traditions (this would be a fun audiobook!).

I appreciate the insight into a different immigrant community especially as there are certain themes that are universal regardless of the home country (e.g., sacrifices for the younger generation, conversations about language and assimilation/connections to culture, the value or role of education for the children of immigrants, etc.). A bit more than the first half of the book was a bit slow and felt a bit tedious - perhaps even extraneous. While there were some small snippets that helped with character development, I think a lot of this could have been trimmed back significantly. It was only about two thirds of the way through the book that the story started picking up and I found myself staying up to finish. The writing especially in the first portion could've been condensed and the characters could have been a bit more layered, but I did gain insight into the Nigerian community in Canada.

Many thanks to Bookish First and Feiwel and Friends for the early copy of Twice as Perfect.