Everyone’s Thinking It
Written by: Aleema Omotoni
Balzer + Bray
2023
A compelling and thoughtful mystery, Everyone’s Thinking It will keep you on your toes as it tackles classism, racism, and cultural appropriation. Mean girls get what’s coming to them here.
Everyone’s Thinking It is a mystery about two estranged cousins at a predominantly white school. It highlights not only what it means to be colored but also a foreigner in a school of privilege so far away from home. Aleema Omotoni does a fantastic job of tackling cultural appropriation and racism while offering a compelling mystery for young readers.
Storytelling
Everyone’s Thinking It follows Kitan and Iyanu at Wodebury, an elite boarding school in the English countryside. Estranged now, the cousins were once very close. However, the struggle to fit in is always the struggle for young people, especially those with an “otherness” to them. For Kitan and Iyanu, their “otherness” comes not only from their skin color but also from their origins. They are Nigerian-born at this school because their parents had the opportunity to give them the best education, and they took it.
But for the girls, this began their estrangement. Iyanu loves her “blackness.” She is proud of her culture and background and does not let others belittle her for it. Keeping to the sidelines, she shields herself with her camera, taking photos for school. But that doesn’t mean she’s a mouse. I loved that about her characterization, the way she speaks her mind, the way she calls people out on their bullshit.
Of course, this does not make her friends with the popular crowd in which Kitan lives.
For Kitan, her shield is her ability to assimilate. She doesn’t rock the boat or call people out on their BS. No, instead, she goes along with the subtle-not-so-subtle racism, with the cultural appropriation because hanging out with the rich, white, and powerful offers her protection against all who might attack her “otherness.”
As readers, we pity her, but more importantly, we understand her. We, unfortunately, live in a world where people are marginalized for a variety of reasons, the biggest being their skin color.
However, when Iyanu’s photos for the school website are stolen and plastered all over the school, complete with juicy secrets on the backs, Iyanu must clear her name. Kitan decides to help, not only to help her cousin but also to get to the root of the rumor behind her photo.
In doing so, the girls face their past together, addressing and bringing to light all the small injustices at the school. These uncover more secrets and are reminiscent of the Burn Book from Mean Girls being revealed. Seeing the reveal and the mean girls and popular crew get what’s coming to them was such a satisfying moment.
More importantly, it was great to see the bond between Iyanu and Kitan reform. They both learn to understand each other and how to better stand up for themselves and for those like them without compromising their identity. Iyanu begins to understand Kitan a little better, and in turn, she helps Kitan find her voice.
Final Thoughts
Everyone’s Thinking It is a great novel that makes you think and look around you. Its compelling mystery tackles reality in a way that pulls readers in and keeps them hooked.
Cynthia Ayala
Cynthia Ayala-Bujnicki majored in Writing and Publishing from Emerson College. Editor-in-chief of Cyn's Workshop, she loves to read and write while tending to her pepper plants. She currently lives in South Florida with her husband, two kids Dante and Selene and two furbabies Mr. J the Kitten who Thinks He's Batman (yes, that is his full name) and Nyx.
