The book Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh is available to 14-18 year old children in the Grand Haven High School Library. This book is eloquently written in verse, and is a coming-of-age story about a young girl who is a first generation American with African descent.
Although sad with a happy ending, most of this story opens up a new world for readers as it describes the experiences from around 5 years old through college of the main character Ada. Ada is raised by her father as her mother is plagued by addiction. When she does spend time with her mother, the visits are typically short and contain episodes of verbal abuse. Ada does well in school and has a relatively stable home life with her father.
There are two scenes in this book that have the potential to be very disturbing to readers. Although they weren’t overly explicit, they describe sexual acts. Beginning on page 148, Ada is six years old and raped by her adult cousin while visiting her mother.
Ada never tells anyone her secret and there is no real resolution for this illegal act.
On page 217, Ada describes a touching game she played in school with her friend Sarah at the age of seven. “To give this game a name would be to say that we were playing at all, but we were not. This was not happening. It did not feel good. We didn’t meet in the second stall in silence with the clasps of our ashtray jeans undone and far below our knees. We were not in there together. My fingers didn’t slide from just below her navel, nor glide beneath her underwear. We weren’t gone for that long with the hall pass.”
The illegal sexual acts described in this book must not be ignored. They are part of the book and when children read this book they too are exposed to illegal sexual acts. This is not acceptable. Parents should be notified before their children have access to this book as they deserve the right to refuse access, and be informed of what their children are reading. Parents may want to discuss these deeply personal topics with their children, and that right will be denied if they are not informed.