Book Review: Calling My Name by Liara Tamani

Title: Calling My Name

Author: Liara Tamani

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 384

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Year Published: 2017

Format: Audiobook

"Taja Brown knows her place and the restrictions within her conservative and tight-knit African American family, but she suddenly feels left behind watching her friends go through a world of firsts- from kisses to boyfriends to everything in between. But everything shifts when Taja falls in love for the first time. Tamani creates a raw, relatable, and eloquently told a coming-of-age story about finding your place, beliefs, and identity" -Buzzfeed

My Rating: 2.5/5

This was pretty decent overall. I think that the beauty of this story comes from questioning things you grow up with and growing into your own person. It certainly touched on subjects that I am not knowledgable about, and I'm grateful that I was able to read this book. I grew up in a community with a fire and brimstone church that used fear to help gain patronage. I, myself, am not religious but I am curious about other religious experiences. I loved the writing in this book as it flowed and weaved Taja's growth from girl to be her own woman. I will say that the pacing was a bit off for me and that not all the characters were as fleshed out as I had hoped they would be. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would like to read more from the author.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny