Read this when
Americanah
Ifemelu moved to America and found out she was Black. Then she found out she couldn't text the love of her life back. We've all been in that braiding chair.
Who it's for
Ifemelu's experience of arriving in the US, discovering that she is now 'Black' in an American sense, and learning the codes of accent, hair and politeness gives immigrant and diaspora readers a detailed, often funny, mirror of daily displacement.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 2013 novel follows Ifemelu and Obinze, who fall in love as teenagers in Lagos during Nigeria's military dictatorship. Ifemelu moves to the United States for university, where she grapples with race and identity and becomes known for a blog about American racial dynamics.
Where to find it
In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.
Before you start
Heads up: A teen suicide attempt; coercive sex.
Age: Ages 16+
One ever feels his twoness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings;W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Chapter 1
