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Renée Watson Believes Self-Love Is a Revolution
This New York Times bestselling author’s latest YA novel is an unapologetic love letter to Black girls
With Black girlhood at the helm, Renée Watson wants to start important conversations. The New York Times bestselling author has written books (one which has been optioned for a movie) about activist girls who raise their voices and take to the streets. But Watson’s latest installment, Love Is a Revolution, is an unapologetic love letter that highlights the quieter voices who show up for themselves and their loved ones in small, but equally important ways. After all, the main character’s grandmother says, “The most radical thing you can do is love yourself and each other.”
In the opening scene of Watson’s latest novel, Nala wants to accomplish three things: Find a new hairstyle; spend more time with her sister-cousin-friend, Imani, and best friend, Sadie; and most importantly, find love. But love is hard, and it requires patience, selflessness, and perseverance. Watson further explores the many themes of radical love by featuring Black teens figuring out themselves and their identities in the world. This realistic fiction is a sustainable ode to community, sisterhood, and self-love.
