Love is a Revolution
Author: Renée Watson
Published February 2, 2021 by Bloomsbury
Summary: From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Renée Watson comes a new YA–a love story about not only a romantic relationship but how a girl finds herself and falls in love with who she really is.
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.
In Love Is a Revolution, plus size girls are beautiful and get the attention of the hot guys, the popular girl clique is not shallow but has strong convictions and substance, and the ultimate love story is not only about romance but about how to show radical love to the people in your life, including to yourself.
Ricki’s Review: There is so much to write about this book! First, I loved the way it elevated body positivity. The comments (implicit and explicit) about Nala’s size felt, at times, infuriating. I was so proud of the way she handled these comments. I also loved the idea that everyone doesn’t need to be a loud activist to be doing amazing work. Nala was keenly focused on her family, and the work that she did was important work. I admired her greatly. The book made me think a lot about my own convictions and what I value most. This is a book that belongs in all classrooms, and I recommend it highly.
Discussion Questions:
- How is Nala different from the other characters in the book? What do we learn from her?
- What does Tye value? What do we learn from him?
- How is Nala and Tye’s relationship perceived?
- How do different characters in this book perceive family? Which characters reflect your own values, and why?
Flagged Passage:
“I can’t stand when people don’t follow through. Make a plan, stick to it. Say what you mean and mean what you say.”
Read This If You Love: Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson; Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Recommended For:
I ended up loving this book too, but I stopped reading when she started to tell lies to ‘get the boy.’ I read the ending, went back and started reading it all. I too loved the body positivity and how it showed that there are many ways to make the world a better place.