This was a lot. Trigger warning on just about everything. This one wasn’t terrible but I prob wouldn’t recommend.

The idea for this story sounded good. The topics (TW) covered included domestic violence, mental health and suicide. Unfortunately, I found the execution not good. I had the feeling that the subjects jumped from one to the other, so that the story did not come out well. In addition, I was very annoyed by the writing style. I felt like this was written for a very young audience and at the same time I got a lot of Watpadd vibes. It's a pity, because the cover is very beautiful and the synopsis made me curious about the story.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

CW: domestic abuse and violence, suicide attempt

Thank you to NetGalley and Hashtag Press Ltd/Hashtag BLAK for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amani and her mom are finally getting away from a dangerous home life with her dad in London and going to live with her grandfather in Manchester. She makes two great friends, and life is able to continue as normal. Or is it? Things are going on beneath the surface and tensions are building. How tough is it really to be Amani?

This fast-paced book could have spent more time on individual situations, but I still felt that it covered a lot of important topics. The end didn't feel believable, but I suppose that's the beauty of fiction: you can always get your happy ever after.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book definitely had a lot of promise. It touched on some very important issues that I think are imperative to YA literature, such as race, domestic abuse, mental health etc, but never quite hit the mark for any of them.

Amani was a likeable young protagonist who was very relatable. I felt her pain and guilt over the situation she was in, and seeing her come out the other side was beautiful. Her relationships with others were patchy - Leo, for example, was a very well thought out character, and we got to see their bond. I did feel like Sanaa was pushed into the stereotypical teenage side character role, and we didn’t find out much about her, making Amani’s feelings about their rollercoaster friendship feel a bit hollow. This was true of most of Amani’s relationships - I felt we were just starting to get there with her mum and Grandad at the end, but I’d have liked to have explored those more throughout and not just after the incident.

I thought the theme of domestic abuse survivors was well handled, up until the end. I didn’t enjoy the excuses that were made for Amani’s father, nor that her mum and Grandad were quite forceful that she give him another chance. For a book aimed at young adults, the message seemed to be that you should forgive your abuser because they might change and I just couldn’t get on board with that. I thought the mirroring of her parents relationship with her relationship with Ryan was very interesting and worked well in the story.

Overall, I felt like this book could’ve been so much more than it was. Considering the age that it is aimed at, I think it missed a real opportunity to talk about some heavy issues that need to be spoken about more.

This is a book where the cover makes you think the story will be about one thing, but once you start reading, it is about something HUGELY different. I think it's especially important for any future readers to be aware of trigger warnings before starting to read as you are thrown headfirst into Amani's storyline which features topics and issues that many may feel uncomfortable reading about. As much as I tried, I couldn't build a connection with Amani and her mother, and taking into consideration the subject matter - this should not have been an issue. Not for me, I'm afraid.

Being Amani is the coming of age story of Amani, who moves from London to Manchester to live with her grandfather after one too many abusive incidents between her parents.

From the blurb, I absolutely wasn’t expecting to be launched straight into an abuse storyline and would like to see trigger warnings at the start of this book! Lots of common (and less common) and actually really heavy issues some teens deal with are addressed during the course of the book, which is great to see, yet it was in a more superficial and cliched way than I’d have liked. This was an easy read and I don’t want this to come across in a negative way as I very much enjoyed the style of writing. I also absolutely adored the character of Leo (and also his parents) - his compassion for Amani was beautiful.

I do believe the story could do with fleshing out a little more, in particular I would have loved to see more of Grandad’s life story as he’s such a key character, but more importantly some of the heavier issues need to be expanded on. It’s pretty impossible to explain this without giving spoilers away. I would never usually mention this in a review but I feel very strongly on this, as from experience I can safely say one conversation does not negate or make up for years of abuse. I don’t think it would be possible for Amani to forgive or forget that easily, especially with the complex situation with her mum. It was really positive to see Levi try to reconcile his issues but this is a process and that should be represented, which would give the book a more believable conclusion.

Being Amani by Annabelle Steele was a beautiful coming of age story about a teenage girl named Amani who has been up and moved from London to Manchester after an incident with her father. We follow her as she deals with all things teenager; petty fights, boys, alcohol, and of course wanting to fit in. I ended up giving this book a four and a half stars out of five. There were so many amazing elements to this book and I couldn't put it down.
When I first requested this arc I saw the pink and blue cover with a smiling girl and thought this would be a fun story about a girl in high school. I couldn't have been farther from the truth. Throughout the entire book we watch Amani as she suffers from panic attacks and coming to terms with this new life after both her and her mother leave an abusive husband and father. I absolutely loved the way it was portrayed and written. I could truly feel the pain that was going through Amani's mind as she dealt with all of these things by herself.
This book is a story about resilience, loving yourself, and finding hope in those around you. Every single character in this book was so dynamic and round that you couldn't help but feel as if it was all real. Leo's compassion for Amani was absolutely adorable. Her relationship with Ryan was something that happens to girls all around the world, not just in Manchester, and I loved that Annabelle Steele included it.
As much of a sweet YA story as it seems to be I did have a few problems like you would with any book, Firstly, this book covers a lot of heavy topics ranging from suicide to sexual harassment. When I first picked it up there was no indication that it would be that heavy hitting. For another thing, I wish that we had seen just a little bit more of Amani's best friend Sanaa. Sanaa as a whole wasn’t my favorite kind of character, she seemed really flat as a character and never seems like a really good friend to Amani. Even if it was a good story the bad out ways the good and I’m rating it a 2.5/5 stars.

the cover and description really got me so i thought i'd read it. little did i know the romance would be THAT sugary just a few chapters in... i hate it. it's like the world is going only around Leo (Amani's best friend) and also the writing style was really really plain and not at all gripping. a pity, cuz i thought this was right up my alley when i read the description :( ended up dnfing.

2/5🌟: unfortunately, this was super disappointing to me. amani's female best friend basically is the stereotype of girls living for makeup, fashion and attention.

she is always thinking about being instagram famous and getting her nails done etc., while amani's male best friend is annoyed by that. she also doesn't understand or can't reflect on it when guys treat her badly, because she just /needs/ the attention of boys. ugh.

in general, everything escalates pretty early and quickly and it feels like it's written for the younger side of YA, but i think what really bothered me was that there were so many heavy topics included (like suicide, physical abuse etc.) that weren't really discussed at all. it was just heavy topic after heavy topic without any introduction or meaning or encouraging thoughts for the characters or readers.

one of the worst things was that amani's mum makes excuses for the abuse that she and amani received, because her "father is still the father and he still loves her". that's guilt tripping and i just can't support that.

excuses keep being made for the abuser, this doesn't send a good message. you /don't/ have to forgive someone who abused you.

tw: violence, abusive parent, alcoholism, miscarriage, panic attacks, racism, suicide attempt, sexual abuse

thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest opinion.