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Break This House
From Printz honoree and National Book Award Finalist Candice Iloh, a prose novel about a teenager reckoning with her family’s--and her home town's--secrets.
Yaminah Okar left Obsidian and the wreckage of her family years ago. She and her father have made lives for themselves in Brooklyn. She thinks she’s moved on to bigger and better things. She thinks she's finally left behind that city she would rather forget. But when a Facebook message about her estranged mother pierces Yaminah’s new bubble, memories of everything that happened before her parents' divorce come roaring back. Now, Yaminah must finally reckon with the truth about her mother and the growing collapse of a place she once called home.
Yaminah Okar left Obsidian and the wreckage of her family years ago. She and her father have made lives for themselves in Brooklyn. She thinks she’s moved on to bigger and better things. She thinks she's finally left behind that city she would rather forget. But when a Facebook message about her estranged mother pierces Yaminah’s new bubble, memories of everything that happened before her parents' divorce come roaring back. Now, Yaminah must finally reckon with the truth about her mother and the growing collapse of a place she once called home.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 2022
7 people are currently reading
3282 people want to read
About the author
Candice Iloh
7 books132 followersCandice Iloh is a first generation Nigerian-American writer, teaching artist, and youth educator. She is a graduate of Howard University and holds an MFA in writing from Lesley University. Her work has earned fellowships from Lambda Literary and VONA among many others. Her debut novel, Every Body Looking, was a finalist for the National Book Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
October 31, 2022
The thing I love the most about Break This House by Candice Iloh is the strong female characters and their ability to be REAL. Yaminah Okar lives with her father in Brooklyn. She grew up in Obsidian, but she and her father left that life behind when her mom and dad divorced. They have built a new life together and the life the fled in Obsidian is almost forgotten. But the Yaminah is invited to a family reunion on her mother side. A reunion to honor the death of her own mother. Why hadno one told her of her mothers death? And what an awful way to find out. Building up courage and bravery over her frustrations, Yaminah travels back to her grandmother‘s house to stay with family and attend the reunion. Along the way she will reconnect with her cousins, extended family and her own sister. Maybe she can even learn more about her mother, how she died and more importantly how she lived.
March 18, 2022
it hurt so much. and then not so much. an explosion of a novel that starts off as a quiet spark you can barely see. something i needed to experience.
June 1, 2022
Thank you to Penguin Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Reflective like Iloh's debut, but in a different way.
I claimed a copy of Break This House by Candice Iloh from Bookish First. I absolutely loved Iloh’s verse debut, Everybody Looking, and so I was really eager for their prose debut. Break this House is a coming of age story about grief, divorce and familial estrangement. This book was set up to be a new favorite for me, but my brain constantly kept getting distracted. So while I did enjoy what I recall from this one, I am putting this one aside with a mini review of Not Right Now (NRN). The themes of grief and family tension were well done, but it was almost too evocative. I think with all the chaos of the past month, I couldn’t devote the time and brain power a serious book like this one needs. Iloh still has the gripping writing I came to admire from their debut, so I am excited when I do get a chance to pick this one back up.
Rep: Black cis female MC, Black cast.
CWs: Grief, death of parent. Moderate: Mental illness (depression - not the MC), addiction, drug use, alcohol consumption, cancer, death, possible suicide (left unclear).
Reflective like Iloh's debut, but in a different way.
I claimed a copy of Break This House by Candice Iloh from Bookish First. I absolutely loved Iloh’s verse debut, Everybody Looking, and so I was really eager for their prose debut. Break this House is a coming of age story about grief, divorce and familial estrangement. This book was set up to be a new favorite for me, but my brain constantly kept getting distracted. So while I did enjoy what I recall from this one, I am putting this one aside with a mini review of Not Right Now (NRN). The themes of grief and family tension were well done, but it was almost too evocative. I think with all the chaos of the past month, I couldn’t devote the time and brain power a serious book like this one needs. Iloh still has the gripping writing I came to admire from their debut, so I am excited when I do get a chance to pick this one back up.
Rep: Black cis female MC, Black cast.
CWs: Grief, death of parent. Moderate: Mental illness (depression - not the MC), addiction, drug use, alcohol consumption, cancer, death, possible suicide (left unclear).
June 11, 2022
Yaminah and her father have relocated to Brooklyn and she thought she left her old life and her extended family behind. All of her unresolved feelings come back when she gets a facebook message referencing her estranged mother and a family reunion. Yaminah reflects back on what happened before her parents’ divorce and faces her own complicated emotions about her mother. The story bounces between her past reflections and the present day as she is trying to deal. The story is told in a beautiful way both completing capturing this toughened teen’s perspective but also being poetic in the way it was written. This was a very quick read, but one that stayed with me long after the pages were completed. I would add there is a trigger warning for parental death as that was a punch I wasn’t expecting. The author did an excellent job telling a story that invoked such a variety of emotions from me.
May 12, 2022
CONTENT WARNING: grief, death of a parent
After reading the sneak peek of this on BookishFirst, I was desperately hoping to get a copy. And when it arrived, I couldn’t wait to start it. It doesn’t hurt that it makes me feel like I’m making some progress on my never-ending and constantly expanding list of ARCs. This book turned out to be an absolute powerhouse in just over 200 pages.
This is one of those fast reads that can be read in a single sitting, not just because it’s easy to fly through, but also because I just couldn’t put it down. Yaminah is 16 years old and has moved from Obsidian, Michigan to Brooklyn, New York a few years back, and is doing everything that she can to forget the painful memories she left behind. But, as we all know, moving doesn’t solve all problems, especially the hurts that we keep inside. And when Yaminah gets an invitation to a family reunion in honor of her recently deceased mother, it turns her entire world upside down.
The writing is beautiful, descriptive, and genuine. It was easy to relate to Yaminah and what she’s going through in this story, The dialogue is written informally, and feels so real to anyone who’s spent any amount of time in the boroughs. And simply reading about what her life is like and what she sees in Brooklyn feels so realistic it was as though I was transported to the diverse streets of Brooklyn, with all the sounds, sights, and smells that I know are there.
At its core, this is a deeply moving story about learning to express yourself and process emotions in a world that tells us to hide them away. Yaminah struggles with the complex feelings she’s been stuffing down, and they explode out of her, especially once she finds herself drawn back into the family dynamics she’s been trying to leave behind. It is an emotional story of grief, loss, acceptance, and learning how to process emotions, many of which are difficult for people of any age, let alone as a teenager.
“You can type LOL and send heart-shaped emojis in a text without anybody knowing that you’re sad. Or that anything’s wrong with you. You can type anything without the person on the other end knowing what’s really up.”
It isn’t always easy to read her interactions with the other characters, although some of them are definitely more likable that others, but each character in the story is meaningful and vital to the story. I especially loved that there isn’t any info dumping, but rather snippets revealed throughout the story. I couldn’t quite get a handle on what to expect, especially at first. But as more comes to light, and we start to see some journal-type entries interspersed between the chapters, I had my suspicions which turned out to be correct. And we learn more as Yaminah does and starts to process the new information that she’s learning:
“I read somewhere that people can read palms and tell things about the future and about past lives. I wonder now if somewhere in my palms it can tell me how my mama still has the power to make me feel like something’s missing even when she’s dead.”
This is a fabulous book, and it’s definitely one that’s going to stay with me for a long time. It’s beautifully written, and immensely relatable, while also talking about coping with emotions, difficult family dynamics, gentrification, poverty, and the importance of family. And it’s one of the best books I’ve read this month.
After reading the sneak peek of this on BookishFirst, I was desperately hoping to get a copy. And when it arrived, I couldn’t wait to start it. It doesn’t hurt that it makes me feel like I’m making some progress on my never-ending and constantly expanding list of ARCs. This book turned out to be an absolute powerhouse in just over 200 pages.
This is one of those fast reads that can be read in a single sitting, not just because it’s easy to fly through, but also because I just couldn’t put it down. Yaminah is 16 years old and has moved from Obsidian, Michigan to Brooklyn, New York a few years back, and is doing everything that she can to forget the painful memories she left behind. But, as we all know, moving doesn’t solve all problems, especially the hurts that we keep inside. And when Yaminah gets an invitation to a family reunion in honor of her recently deceased mother, it turns her entire world upside down.
The writing is beautiful, descriptive, and genuine. It was easy to relate to Yaminah and what she’s going through in this story, The dialogue is written informally, and feels so real to anyone who’s spent any amount of time in the boroughs. And simply reading about what her life is like and what she sees in Brooklyn feels so realistic it was as though I was transported to the diverse streets of Brooklyn, with all the sounds, sights, and smells that I know are there.
At its core, this is a deeply moving story about learning to express yourself and process emotions in a world that tells us to hide them away. Yaminah struggles with the complex feelings she’s been stuffing down, and they explode out of her, especially once she finds herself drawn back into the family dynamics she’s been trying to leave behind. It is an emotional story of grief, loss, acceptance, and learning how to process emotions, many of which are difficult for people of any age, let alone as a teenager.
“You can type LOL and send heart-shaped emojis in a text without anybody knowing that you’re sad. Or that anything’s wrong with you. You can type anything without the person on the other end knowing what’s really up.”
It isn’t always easy to read her interactions with the other characters, although some of them are definitely more likable that others, but each character in the story is meaningful and vital to the story. I especially loved that there isn’t any info dumping, but rather snippets revealed throughout the story. I couldn’t quite get a handle on what to expect, especially at first. But as more comes to light, and we start to see some journal-type entries interspersed between the chapters, I had my suspicions which turned out to be correct. And we learn more as Yaminah does and starts to process the new information that she’s learning:
“I read somewhere that people can read palms and tell things about the future and about past lives. I wonder now if somewhere in my palms it can tell me how my mama still has the power to make me feel like something’s missing even when she’s dead.”
This is a fabulous book, and it’s definitely one that’s going to stay with me for a long time. It’s beautifully written, and immensely relatable, while also talking about coping with emotions, difficult family dynamics, gentrification, poverty, and the importance of family. And it’s one of the best books I’ve read this month.
May 21, 2022
*Thank you, Penguin & BookishFirst, for this ARC of Break This House, by Candice Iloh in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and ideas are my own.*
This story starts off in Brooklyn, where 16-year-old Yaminah (Minah) is living her life alongside her young father. Right away you feel the raw emotions spill from both father and daughter - the complicated, rocky but deep love that so often encapsulates teenage years between parent and child. Minah is finding her own voice and way, discovering how big the world is, and just how much her current reality is stifling and boxing her in.
Within the first few dozen pages, the reader is introduced to the beginnings of what will grow to be the heart of her story. A Facebook message from her cousin Tiff informs her of her mother's death, which send her careening headfirst through the stages of loss, reflections on familial estrangement, and far more questions than answers. Minah will journey back to her birthplace and childhood stomping grounds. She will spend time with her mother's side of the family in Obsidian, Michigan where she will face all the changes that time have wrought.
This book felt like an emotional rollercoaster through coming of age, familial estrangement, structural racism, gentrification, addiction, loss, cancer, mental illness, and other heavy topics. Iloh expertly narrates the story through Minah along with heartbreaking journal entries interwoven throughout the book penned by her deceased mother.
I did not want to put this book down!
"My babies. I hope now you can see me for who I really was. Somebody who ain't always know how to be your mama. Somebody who ain't know how to be. Just a person."
This story starts off in Brooklyn, where 16-year-old Yaminah (Minah) is living her life alongside her young father. Right away you feel the raw emotions spill from both father and daughter - the complicated, rocky but deep love that so often encapsulates teenage years between parent and child. Minah is finding her own voice and way, discovering how big the world is, and just how much her current reality is stifling and boxing her in.
Within the first few dozen pages, the reader is introduced to the beginnings of what will grow to be the heart of her story. A Facebook message from her cousin Tiff informs her of her mother's death, which send her careening headfirst through the stages of loss, reflections on familial estrangement, and far more questions than answers. Minah will journey back to her birthplace and childhood stomping grounds. She will spend time with her mother's side of the family in Obsidian, Michigan where she will face all the changes that time have wrought.
This book felt like an emotional rollercoaster through coming of age, familial estrangement, structural racism, gentrification, addiction, loss, cancer, mental illness, and other heavy topics. Iloh expertly narrates the story through Minah along with heartbreaking journal entries interwoven throughout the book penned by her deceased mother.
I did not want to put this book down!
"My babies. I hope now you can see me for who I really was. Somebody who ain't always know how to be your mama. Somebody who ain't know how to be. Just a person."
May 25, 2022
Thank you to BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for a finished copy of this book.
I loved Candice Iloh's debut, Every Body Looking, and knew I needed to read their second. Yaminah has been living in Brooklyn with her father for years, trying to stay away from the wreckage of the rest of her family. But when she gets an invite to a family reunion and realize her abusive mother has died, she heads back to Obsidian to reckon with her past and family.
This book was poignant and deep. Even though it is not written in verse, it felt like it at times with the poetry of the prose. Minah is a great main character and I loved the growth and understanding she was able to go through in this book. It talks about a lot of concepts such as emotional abuse, gentrification, and family.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more by Iloh!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, and Emotional abuse
I loved Candice Iloh's debut, Every Body Looking, and knew I needed to read their second. Yaminah has been living in Brooklyn with her father for years, trying to stay away from the wreckage of the rest of her family. But when she gets an invite to a family reunion and realize her abusive mother has died, she heads back to Obsidian to reckon with her past and family.
This book was poignant and deep. Even though it is not written in verse, it felt like it at times with the poetry of the prose. Minah is a great main character and I loved the growth and understanding she was able to go through in this book. It talks about a lot of concepts such as emotional abuse, gentrification, and family.
I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more by Iloh!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, and Emotional abuse
May 25, 2022
Break This House follows Minah as she returns to her childhood home after the death of her mother. Told in a stream-of-consciousness format, Minah tries to reconcile with the life and the family she left behind when she and her father moved to Brooklyn.
I think Minah is an incredibly well-written character. She is real and raw as she examines her broken family while dealing with her mother's death. As the story is told from her POV, you go on this journey with her, experiencing the emotional roller coaster as she does. I think this story will appeal to children of divorce, and I don't think there are many own voices stories like this one. We follow Minah through flashbacks and her mother's diary entries as she attempts to piece the puzzle of her mother together. We know what she knows and we know what she knows when she knows it. I thought this was a good book, but there was just something about it that didn't have me loving it. Nonetheless, I would definitely recommend it, especially to kids in similar situations.
I think Minah is an incredibly well-written character. She is real and raw as she examines her broken family while dealing with her mother's death. As the story is told from her POV, you go on this journey with her, experiencing the emotional roller coaster as she does. I think this story will appeal to children of divorce, and I don't think there are many own voices stories like this one. We follow Minah through flashbacks and her mother's diary entries as she attempts to piece the puzzle of her mother together. We know what she knows and we know what she knows when she knows it. I thought this was a good book, but there was just something about it that didn't have me loving it. Nonetheless, I would definitely recommend it, especially to kids in similar situations.
July 18, 2022
We follow Yaminah who just found out her estranged mother passed away. She returns to her hometown to see family she left behind when her dad abs she moved away and starts to learn there were family secrets being kept, including about her mother.
Although i like yaminah and the sort of mystery set up, something was missing for me. I felt like every time we got close to a connection the story would break off abd i couldn’t stay with the characters quite long enough to really feel what was going on.
Although i like yaminah and the sort of mystery set up, something was missing for me. I felt like every time we got close to a connection the story would break off abd i couldn’t stay with the characters quite long enough to really feel what was going on.
Read
March 29, 2022
Trigger & Content Warnings
Parental divorce & estrangement
Death of a mother
Parental divorce & estrangement
Death of a mother
July 24, 2022
I got this book from bookish first - I was drawn in by the description
To be honest at first I struggled and had to keep going back and rereading what was said because it is written in a different dialect than I am used to reading- it is a YA book written in the voice of a teen girl and apparently, I am old because I often found myself a bit frustrated but this is not written for my age group so I am sure this is very relatable for the intended crowd.
with the YA part I also struggled because it is so hard for me to accept that kids are doing drugs, drinking, having sex etc but I also am not naive I know this is in fact happening and this book definitely seems to normalize it and doesn't really seem to indicate any issues or concern with the fact that it is happening. I know what kids did when I was in school (and honestly, I didn't partake till I was 18 in my own place...so for perspective that is why it is still hard to believe kids do these things and having done enough at 18 and often thinking what I would be or how smart I would be or the money I would have had a I not wasted it on things I was doing.... It makes me a bit concerned for kids out here doing these things...) that aside it is a book about grief and addiction but it is all very coded and nothing is direct or clear per say and given it is about addiction and the pain / loss it caused it still shocks me that it is only focused on the one aspect (heroin is my guess / the opioid crisis) it doesn't touch on the other forms of self-medicating and escape going on throughout the book.
This also made me think about how an author I follow got hate mail from a mother who was so upset that the book had cuss words and eluded to sex and her teen read it - that book was NOT a YA book yet they gave it to the kid and then got upset --- yet there are YA books like this that I am sure that mother would lose her mind to know her child read - all that to say if you are a parent and try to shelter your teen read the books with them and talk about it (or read them first and try to keep them from your kid but that doesn't ever really work out so read and talk about it because this is life for some)
I really liked the characters and the character development but overall, the story just seemed to kind of go nowhere or have no real message or ending I don't know it left me wanting for more - I can't really explain it - characters were great though!
To be honest at first I struggled and had to keep going back and rereading what was said because it is written in a different dialect than I am used to reading- it is a YA book written in the voice of a teen girl and apparently, I am old because I often found myself a bit frustrated but this is not written for my age group so I am sure this is very relatable for the intended crowd.
with the YA part I also struggled because it is so hard for me to accept that kids are doing drugs, drinking, having sex etc but I also am not naive I know this is in fact happening and this book definitely seems to normalize it and doesn't really seem to indicate any issues or concern with the fact that it is happening. I know what kids did when I was in school (and honestly, I didn't partake till I was 18 in my own place...so for perspective that is why it is still hard to believe kids do these things and having done enough at 18 and often thinking what I would be or how smart I would be or the money I would have had a I not wasted it on things I was doing.... It makes me a bit concerned for kids out here doing these things...) that aside it is a book about grief and addiction but it is all very coded and nothing is direct or clear per say and given it is about addiction and the pain / loss it caused it still shocks me that it is only focused on the one aspect (heroin is my guess / the opioid crisis) it doesn't touch on the other forms of self-medicating and escape going on throughout the book.
This also made me think about how an author I follow got hate mail from a mother who was so upset that the book had cuss words and eluded to sex and her teen read it - that book was NOT a YA book yet they gave it to the kid and then got upset --- yet there are YA books like this that I am sure that mother would lose her mind to know her child read - all that to say if you are a parent and try to shelter your teen read the books with them and talk about it (or read them first and try to keep them from your kid but that doesn't ever really work out so read and talk about it because this is life for some)
I really liked the characters and the character development but overall, the story just seemed to kind of go nowhere or have no real message or ending I don't know it left me wanting for more - I can't really explain it - characters were great though!
May 28, 2022
Minah lives in NYC with her father. Minah is 16 and they moved several years back when things got bad with Minah’s mom. Her mom struggled with addiction. Minah hasn’t talked to her mom in years and has lost contact with her mom’s side of the family. The only one she still talks to his her “play cousin” (I’ve never heard this term but I love it, it’s someone you see like family but you’re not actually related to). Minah gets an invitation to her family reunion, the invite contains a heartbreaking surprise: it is in memory of Minah’s mom. Minah didn’t know her mom had died. She is furious and she confronts her dad. He admits that he didn’t know how to tell her when every mention of her mother only made Minah mad.
So Minah has to grapple with the fact that her mother has been gone for six months and nobody told her. She might also feel a bit conflicted about cutting contact with her mom’s family.
Her dad encourages her to go back for the family reunion if she feels like it would be good for her to do, and she decides to go.
I don’t want to give anything away by digging too much into the story about when Minah goes back for the reunion. I will say that she has to deal with her family, what they choose to tell her, what is the truth and how she feels about her relationship with her mother.
This book was super short but it was emotional and powerful. It will definitely bring a tear to your eye and get you choked up.
If I were to offer constructive criticism I felt like the epilogue was not totally necessary.
I also wanted to say that I liked the format of this book. I’m not going to spoil that either :)
I found this book because I read an excerpt on BookishFirst. Thankfully I think won an early copy of the book from BookishFirst because I was totally pulled into the story after reading the excerpt.
I’d definitely recommend this book. It’s not something I would have found on my own and I’m glad I read the excerpt and got pulled into the story
So Minah has to grapple with the fact that her mother has been gone for six months and nobody told her. She might also feel a bit conflicted about cutting contact with her mom’s family.
Her dad encourages her to go back for the family reunion if she feels like it would be good for her to do, and she decides to go.
I don’t want to give anything away by digging too much into the story about when Minah goes back for the reunion. I will say that she has to deal with her family, what they choose to tell her, what is the truth and how she feels about her relationship with her mother.
This book was super short but it was emotional and powerful. It will definitely bring a tear to your eye and get you choked up.
If I were to offer constructive criticism I felt like the epilogue was not totally necessary.
I also wanted to say that I liked the format of this book. I’m not going to spoil that either :)
I found this book because I read an excerpt on BookishFirst. Thankfully I think won an early copy of the book from BookishFirst because I was totally pulled into the story after reading the excerpt.
I’d definitely recommend this book. It’s not something I would have found on my own and I’m glad I read the excerpt and got pulled into the story
May 26, 2022
I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book and am providing my honest review.
Minah lives alone with her pop following the separation of her parents. During a Facebook Messenger chat with her cousin, Minah learns that her mother has passed away and this year’s family reunion will be in her memory. Disappointed in pop for not telling her, Minah decides to visit her childhood home for the reunion. Minah is reunited with a past that she thought she had left behind for good. Will Minah find the answers to her questions?
This coming-of-age novel had me hooked from the very beginning. The conversations between Minah and Pop really portrays the type of relationship the two of them have. At times I found it hard to follow along with Minah and Pop's dialect but grew use to it as the book moved along. The book is told in first person and has very descriptive narration which allowed me to get into Minah’s head. The short journal entries found between the chapters were confusing to me at first however as the story went on it became apparent to me what they were which tied the storyline together nicely. I felt the ending did not have much resolution and ended abruptly. I do wish Iloh would have made the story a little longer to tie up the loose ends that felt thrown together towards the end.
Overall, I was very pleased with this book. I would highly recommend it to young adults and adults who enjoy a fast paced, quick read revolving around grief, loss, acceptance, difficult family dynamics, and processing emotions. The characters within the book are relatable and very likeable. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.
Favorite Quote: "My babies. I hope now you can see me for who I really was. Somebody who ain't always know how to be your mama. Somebody who ain't know how to be. Just a person."
Trigger Warnings: Death of a Parent, Divorce
Minah lives alone with her pop following the separation of her parents. During a Facebook Messenger chat with her cousin, Minah learns that her mother has passed away and this year’s family reunion will be in her memory. Disappointed in pop for not telling her, Minah decides to visit her childhood home for the reunion. Minah is reunited with a past that she thought she had left behind for good. Will Minah find the answers to her questions?
This coming-of-age novel had me hooked from the very beginning. The conversations between Minah and Pop really portrays the type of relationship the two of them have. At times I found it hard to follow along with Minah and Pop's dialect but grew use to it as the book moved along. The book is told in first person and has very descriptive narration which allowed me to get into Minah’s head. The short journal entries found between the chapters were confusing to me at first however as the story went on it became apparent to me what they were which tied the storyline together nicely. I felt the ending did not have much resolution and ended abruptly. I do wish Iloh would have made the story a little longer to tie up the loose ends that felt thrown together towards the end.
Overall, I was very pleased with this book. I would highly recommend it to young adults and adults who enjoy a fast paced, quick read revolving around grief, loss, acceptance, difficult family dynamics, and processing emotions. The characters within the book are relatable and very likeable. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.
Favorite Quote: "My babies. I hope now you can see me for who I really was. Somebody who ain't always know how to be your mama. Somebody who ain't know how to be. Just a person."
Trigger Warnings: Death of a Parent, Divorce
January 9, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded up.
I received a copy of this book from this publisher when it was released last year, but due to a death in my family, I couldn't bring myself to read this. It's fictional, but even fictional portrayals of death in family can be difficult to read. The author starts the book with a warning that feelings would get real in this book- and it's true. Yaminah is a teenager living in New York, about to go back to visit her once close-knit family after finding out that her mother died.
I loved the way that the story unraveled. Candace Iloh slowly gives information about Yaminah's family- I got to know her family as she was forced to face her family again after years away. Yaminah's characterization is refreshing. She is direct and unapologetic. I was rooting for her as I learned about her backstory, and I felt her ups and downs.
The only issue I had with the story was that the ending felt rushed. Once we learn a little more about Minah's past, the book ends. I think the author was going for more heartbreak at the end, but I was left a bit confused on where the characters were going and how they were working through their feelings. Characters in New York were dropped, and I wanted to know more about Minah's dad and his explanation for certain events in the story.
Overall, a good read. Not quite as emotional as I thought it would be, but honest and thought-provoking.
I received a copy of this book from this publisher when it was released last year, but due to a death in my family, I couldn't bring myself to read this. It's fictional, but even fictional portrayals of death in family can be difficult to read. The author starts the book with a warning that feelings would get real in this book- and it's true. Yaminah is a teenager living in New York, about to go back to visit her once close-knit family after finding out that her mother died.
I loved the way that the story unraveled. Candace Iloh slowly gives information about Yaminah's family- I got to know her family as she was forced to face her family again after years away. Yaminah's characterization is refreshing. She is direct and unapologetic. I was rooting for her as I learned about her backstory, and I felt her ups and downs.
The only issue I had with the story was that the ending felt rushed. Once we learn a little more about Minah's past, the book ends. I think the author was going for more heartbreak at the end, but I was left a bit confused on where the characters were going and how they were working through their feelings. Characters in New York were dropped, and I wanted to know more about Minah's dad and his explanation for certain events in the story.
Overall, a good read. Not quite as emotional as I thought it would be, but honest and thought-provoking.
April 4, 2022
The female, first-person narrator is a teenager who describes her life and her emotional reactions in a truly authentic voice. There are no rose colored glasses on this narrator's face: her father's job as a butcher in a meat packing business disgusts her - especially since she's become a vegetarian. However, her father feels offended, as if her social consciousness and new diet are a criticism of how he pays for the roof over their head and the food on the table. To make matters worse, her mother is dead, and she has just discovered the cause of death through her family's invitation on social media.
I liked the narrator's honest reactions and descriptions to everything from her neighborhood to the smells on her father's clothing at the end of his shift. What might be lacking for some readers is a sense of a serious conflict that threatens the narrator's life. I had to scroll back through a few pages to be sure I was understanding that the person named Sandra was, in fact, her mother; the description had seemed more like an important girlfriend who had lived with them for a while. At times, the stream of consciousness and everyday conversations/ text messages between the narrator and her boyfriend and others seemed to lack tension that drives a story forward.
I liked the narrator's honest reactions and descriptions to everything from her neighborhood to the smells on her father's clothing at the end of his shift. What might be lacking for some readers is a sense of a serious conflict that threatens the narrator's life. I had to scroll back through a few pages to be sure I was understanding that the person named Sandra was, in fact, her mother; the description had seemed more like an important girlfriend who had lived with them for a while. At times, the stream of consciousness and everyday conversations/ text messages between the narrator and her boyfriend and others seemed to lack tension that drives a story forward.
February 11, 2023
Yaminah and her dad were able to escape their small town of Obsidian, MI, and move to NYC 3 years ago, and now, Yaminah finds out through an invitation to her family reunion that her estranged mother died from cancer several months ago and nobody bothered to tell her. She makes the difficult choice to travel back to her hometown and reunite with her large extended family, and she confronts her grief and complicated feelings about her mother along the way.
I was really affected by this story, even though I've never been through any of Yaminah's traumatic experiences. Iloh makes her characters so real and honest, and they really reveal the complexity of family relationships and the grief of losing a loved one in such a nuanced way. I loved Yaminah's support system back in NYC, which brought a lot of joy to the story, but I also loved her Nana and her sister, as well as all the flashbacks to times she had growing up in Obsidian. My only complaint is that the ending felt somewhat rushed. However, I loved the author's writing style and will be looking forward to reading more of their books.
I was really affected by this story, even though I've never been through any of Yaminah's traumatic experiences. Iloh makes her characters so real and honest, and they really reveal the complexity of family relationships and the grief of losing a loved one in such a nuanced way. I loved Yaminah's support system back in NYC, which brought a lot of joy to the story, but I also loved her Nana and her sister, as well as all the flashbacks to times she had growing up in Obsidian. My only complaint is that the ending felt somewhat rushed. However, I loved the author's writing style and will be looking forward to reading more of their books.
May 11, 2022
I read this book in under a week and probably would have finished it in two days if I had the spare time; it pulled me in the whole way through.
The book deals with a few heavy topics, but the biggest are estrangement from family and the loss of the main character (Yaminah)'s mother.
This book is heavy on emotions; all of Yamina's reactions to the mess going on around her feel very real (which is great). I think the fact the book is in first person helped a lot since you're in her head the whole time.
There are some pages between chapters that are in a different font that confused me a bit at first, but by the end they made perfect sense.
My only real criticism is that the beginning felt a little disconnected from where the book ended, but not in a way that ruined the story. There are characters introduced in the beginning that feel important but don't really end up being involved in the rest of the book. Clearly that didn't ruin the experience of the book though.
Overall I truly enjoyed the book.
The book deals with a few heavy topics, but the biggest are estrangement from family and the loss of the main character (Yaminah)'s mother.
This book is heavy on emotions; all of Yamina's reactions to the mess going on around her feel very real (which is great). I think the fact the book is in first person helped a lot since you're in her head the whole time.
There are some pages between chapters that are in a different font that confused me a bit at first, but by the end they made perfect sense.
My only real criticism is that the beginning felt a little disconnected from where the book ended, but not in a way that ruined the story. There are characters introduced in the beginning that feel important but don't really end up being involved in the rest of the book. Clearly that didn't ruin the experience of the book though.
Overall I truly enjoyed the book.
May 25, 2022
Sometimes, I read a YA novel and it's full of high school issues. Those issues seem huge at the time, but never stick with you. Then, there are YA novels like Break This House. Where a young girl, is dealing with hard and real issues like adults do. It's a good idea to step out of my, mostly white, world and into a world of any race that isn't mine. To put myself in the shoes of someone with a different view, and this book is a good one to do that with. I loved that I felt like I was walking with Minah and experience her life and her family with her. Minah is a typical teenager, worrying about parent issues and her boyfriend, but then she finds out in a Facebook post, that her mom has passed. They had a terrible relationship that resulted in her and her dad moving away, but you can still tell she hurts knowing her mom is gone. She decides to attend the family reunion in Obsidian and finds out answers to questions. It's kind of hard to talk about some things, so I don't give any spoilers, but I really enjoyed this book. It's a short and quick read.
June 2, 2022
I choose to receive the book Break This House by Candice Iloh for free because i loved how down to earth the characters sounded. Minah and her dad live in Brooklyn,NY. i live in NY state and have been there before and experienced some of the things she described. Her neighborhood was like living in its own Caribbean bubble, the bodegas, the smells, the people: all of that. But that might be as exciting as the book gets. i was expecting something different, i guess, in regards to her mother dying of an overdose and not cancer. i expected to really find out why Minah and her dad left her twin in Obsidian Michigan to live with her NANA and that wasn't really made clear. i love how her mom Sandra was celebrated but and i wanted to dive deeper into why Minah felt the way she did about her mom. Had it not been for the addition of the other characters, her cousins and twin sister, Nana and the aunties, the book would have felt kinda flat. i appreciate that the book was not a big book. it was a decent read, but not a page turner.
July 15, 2022
"Break This House" is a realistic story about grief, even for those family members you thought you wanted nothing to do with. Minah is a 16 year old who thought she had left behind all her past familial issues by moving from Obsidian, Michigan to Brooklyn, New York with her father a couple years ago. But when she gets a Facebook message informing her of the death of her estranged mother, Minah finds herself drawn back to her old life and reflecting on what went wrong.
What I like about this book by Candice Iloh is that she's a big fan of "show, not tell." Minah never out and out says what she feels or is going on around her without us seeing a clear-cut example first. It allows for us to understand her character and her struggles in a way that is not forced or obnoxious, making this story all the more powerful.
"Break this House" is not your typical YA coming-of-age. It's not a story of happy endings or mended relationships, but of achieving closure when those broken ones finally come to an end.
What I like about this book by Candice Iloh is that she's a big fan of "show, not tell." Minah never out and out says what she feels or is going on around her without us seeing a clear-cut example first. It allows for us to understand her character and her struggles in a way that is not forced or obnoxious, making this story all the more powerful.
"Break this House" is not your typical YA coming-of-age. It's not a story of happy endings or mended relationships, but of achieving closure when those broken ones finally come to an end.
November 6, 2022
Years ago, Yaminah Okar departed from Obsidian and the ruins of her family. In Brooklyn, she and her father have established their own lives. She believes she has advanced to better and larger things. She believes she has finally left the city she would prefer to forget behind. Yaminah's new bubble is shattered, however, when a Facebook message concerning her estranged mother enters it, bringing back vivid recollections of everything that transpired before to her parents' divorce. Yaminah must now face the reality about her mother and the deteriorating state of the place she once called home. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Ut harum dicta et repellat eaque qui eveniet ipsam eum nihil enim? Et galisum sunt aut distinctio dolores et rerum numquam ea quos eveniet est nihil delectus.
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May 15, 2022
*Thank you to Penguin and BookishFirst* for this early copy of Break This House by Candice IIoh. When I read the sneak peak I knew this was a story I wanted more of. Although I didn’t realize how somber and emotional the story would turn out to be. Yaminah Okar “minah” as her friends call her is a shell of her former self. With the sudden unexpected death of her estranged mother from cancer. Minah must finally face the family she has tried to forget since she and her dad moved to Brooklyn. This was a very somber and emotional read. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read. Although it is quite heavy in certain sections so it isn’t for the faint of heart. She has to endure a lot with confronting a lot of the pain and struggles she has endured because of her family and the secrets they have kept from her. Particularly the ones they have had kept hidden from her about her mother Sandy.
May 24, 2022
Minah and her father moved to Brooklyn from Obsidian, Michigan several years ago. Minah has had no contact with her family in Michigan until she gets a text inviting her to a family reunion honoring the life of her estranged mother, Sandra. She is shocked by the news of her mother's death and furious that no one told her. She travels to Obsidian to see her large, extended family and discover the truth about her mother's death. The narrative of Minah's present is juxtaposed with her mother's journal entries and Minah's flashbacks, such that the truth is revealed to the reader at the same time that Minah pieces it together. This is a sad and powerful story about a complicated family situation which explores grief, divorce, mental health, addiction, family fragmentation, and the consequences of keeping secrets. Minah is a strong character as she faces the pain and secrets of her childhood. The writing is nuanced and descriptive, painting a vivid picture of Minah's life in both Brooklyn and Obsidian. Break this House is a skillfully written and gripping, emotional coming-of-age story.
October 17, 2023
This little book packed a considerable punch. I went into this expecting a young adult contemporary novel but it was more profound than that. Told with prose, the reader experiences the grief and reconciliation of a 16-year-old girl who learns suddenly that her estranged mother passed away months before. This story requires the reader's attention and will make you think deeper than many young adult novels I've read. It's layered with nuances and things aren't always straight out explained to the reader, which I loved. While everything wasn't answered entirely, I feel like that was the intent of the author, and was satisfied with how it wrapped up. There were times we jumped from dream states, to present, to past and I'd have to slow down to prevent getting lost. This slight discombobulation is what kept this from being a 5-star read for me.
Topics include nuanced family drama, broken families, generational trauma, addiction, and coming of age.
Topics include nuanced family drama, broken families, generational trauma, addiction, and coming of age.
Want to read
April 27, 2022This book was really interesting to read. I think that I left reading this book realizing that it was a very emotional read. It has two sensitive topics in it, parental divorce and estrangement as well as the death of a mother. I liked that the way the book was written with a female first person narrator. I thought that it helped understand the main character a lot better and connect with the main character as well. It also helped a lot with the development of the character. Another thing I really liked about the writing style is how descriptive it was and how much attention to detail was described throughout the book. I do think that there could be more inclusion of conflict or more to the story to make it a bit more engaging instead of just focusing on all the emotional parts. I did think that overall it is a good read and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
May 23, 2022
The main character, Yaminah okar aka Minah, honestly and brutally tells about her life showing us how the past has informed her present and what happens when adults think they are "protecting" children by leaving out information or flat out lying.
The skillful way that the author describes the sights, sounds, and smells as Minah travels through New York and Michigan paints quite the picture in the mind as you read.
Through the use of flashbacks, journal entries, and present day insights the reader is engaged and invested in the outcome of Minah's life and what her choices are going to be.
This was a book that had me turning the pages to want to know what was going to happen but also trying to slow down and savor the story. I will definitely will be looking into reading other books by this author. I voluntarily reviewed an advance readers copy of this book.
The skillful way that the author describes the sights, sounds, and smells as Minah travels through New York and Michigan paints quite the picture in the mind as you read.
Through the use of flashbacks, journal entries, and present day insights the reader is engaged and invested in the outcome of Minah's life and what her choices are going to be.
This was a book that had me turning the pages to want to know what was going to happen but also trying to slow down and savor the story. I will definitely will be looking into reading other books by this author. I voluntarily reviewed an advance readers copy of this book.
May 24, 2022
Break This House by Candice IIoh is an incredibly raw and emotional read. While not my usual genre, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Candice Iloh masterfully tells the heartwrenching story of Yaminah Okar as she faces the ramifications of the death of her mother, and her relationships with her surviving damily members. The interpersonal relationshipsthe characters have feel very real and believable, as well as their actions and motivations. I found myself drawn to the characters and wanting to learn more about their backstories. I'd hesitate to call this a quick read, even though it is a relatively short book, only because the emotional sections are fairly heavy, so it isn't light reading by any means. Overall, Break This House was a great read that I would recommend to anyone looking for and emotional and dramatic story.
May 30, 2022
Yaminah Okar is living a pleasant and comfortable life with her father, whom she calls ‘Pop’, in Brooklyn, until she receives a message from her cousin Tiff..
The message reveals something shocking and heartbreaking. Thus, Yaminah is propelled to revisit the city which she has escaped from years ago and has decided not to look back, to find out the truth and to face the reality.
Candice Iloh has beautifully written BREAK THIS HOUSE that tells the relationship and sentiment, the problems and challenges that could happen to a family. She deftly portrays them through Yaminah’s viewpoint and would take you on an emotional roller-coaster ride!
Love this novel and the book cover that kinda depicts Yaminah is trying to put the broken pieces (of her family) together like a puzzle!
I would like to thank BookishFirst and Dutton Books/PRH for this enjoyable yet emotional wild ride!
The message reveals something shocking and heartbreaking. Thus, Yaminah is propelled to revisit the city which she has escaped from years ago and has decided not to look back, to find out the truth and to face the reality.
Candice Iloh has beautifully written BREAK THIS HOUSE that tells the relationship and sentiment, the problems and challenges that could happen to a family. She deftly portrays them through Yaminah’s viewpoint and would take you on an emotional roller-coaster ride!
Love this novel and the book cover that kinda depicts Yaminah is trying to put the broken pieces (of her family) together like a puzzle!
I would like to thank BookishFirst and Dutton Books/PRH for this enjoyable yet emotional wild ride!
October 14, 2022
"My babies. I hope now you can see me for who I really was. Somebody who ain't always know how to be your mama. Somebody who ain't know how to be. Just a person."
When Yaminah receives a Facebook message from a family member telling her that her mother has died, she spirals into confusion, grief, and loss. She returns to Obsidian and reacquaints herself with the family she left behind only to unravel the timeline of her mother's death, all while dealing with her cousins, their families, and her grandmother's announcement to sell the house.
The story is interspersed between Yaminah's perspective and portions of her mother's diary, showing the struggles of motherhood, addiction, and family. What we are left with is a tender and evocative story of picking up the pieces and trying, somehow, to move on.
When Yaminah receives a Facebook message from a family member telling her that her mother has died, she spirals into confusion, grief, and loss. She returns to Obsidian and reacquaints herself with the family she left behind only to unravel the timeline of her mother's death, all while dealing with her cousins, their families, and her grandmother's announcement to sell the house.
The story is interspersed between Yaminah's perspective and portions of her mother's diary, showing the struggles of motherhood, addiction, and family. What we are left with is a tender and evocative story of picking up the pieces and trying, somehow, to move on.
April 22, 2022
Pop broke away from the family in Obsidian and moved Minah to Brooklyn years ago - Minah has school, friends, a boyfriend, and no contact with Obsidian until she gets a text inviting her to the summer family reunion honoring the life of Sandra, Minah’s mom. Minah is stunned and furious that no one told her of her mother’s death, and she goes back to Obsidian to find out the truth about Sandra and to mend her own hurts while avoiding family drama as much as possible. Iloh does stunning descriptive work, painting the smells and tastes of Minah’s Brooklyn and Obsidian life in vivid detail and carefully showing the strengths and hurts of Minah’s family. Masterfully done. EARC from Edelweiss.
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