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★ Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
★ Starred Review, School Library Journal
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and her memories of growing up there. Ginger East isn’t what it used to be, though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, all her closest friends moved away, except for Kate. But as long as they have each other, Nelo’s good.

Only, Kate’s parents’ corner store is vandalized, leaving Nelo shaken to her core. The police and the media are quick to point fingers, and soon more of the outside world descends on Ginger East with promises to “fix” it. Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale.

Worse yet, Kate is acting strange. She’s pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Nelo’s entire world is morphing into something she hates, and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything⁠—and everyone⁠—she loves.

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Like Home

"Things close around here
all the time. 
But this time, it's different."
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Critical Praise for Like Home

“A touching coming-of-age story, highly recommended for audiences looking for titles like Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and Nic Stone’s Dear Martin. A must-have.”  – School Library Journal (starred review)

“The effortless diversity of the cast is a model for fiction. Light and serious, playful and real, this is a debut not to be missed.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Remarkable for its authenticity . . . The snapshot of youth culture feels as fresh as last second’s TikTok swipe.” – Quill & Quire

“Evocative and gratifyingly immersive, Like Home brings the idea of community to brilliant life. With expertly-drawn characters and a setting so alive it becomes another character we root for, Louisa Onome has written a celebration of the human capacity to find and re-find home.” – S. K. Ali, New York Times-bestselling author of Saints and Misfits and Love From A to Z

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