July 29, 2025 by HarperCollins
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Imani's father is from Barbados, and after spending time assisting in high end restaurants, has moved the family from California so that he can open the Calypso Grill food truck in New York City. The family, including Imani's mother, who is from Ghana, as well as her sister Lyric and brother Jesse, all pitch in, especially at events like the West Indian Day Parade. Imani is very interested in fashion, so is excited to be in the city, although she is a bit apprehensive about starting a new school. She makes some friends right away, including Harlee, who also designs clothes and has a mother who was a model and now works in the industry. Imani's mother works as a cook for the school, which Imani doesn't mind. After visiting Harlee's house and working on designs for an upcoming, high stakes school contest (the winner gets a place at the Dekalb Art and Design High School), Imani questions Harlee's use of traditional Ghanian Kente cloth in her designs and discusses the idea of cultural appropriation with her. Harlee doesn't think what she is doing is wrong, althought Imani gets back up from her family, who agree with her. After the visit, Imani realizes her sketch book with all of her designs for the contest is missing, and Harlee says she hasn't seen it. When the two submit designs, however, they submit almost identical garments. The school admiistration gets involved, and Imani is accused of plagiarism, in part because she is new and Harlee's mother gives the school donations, but there is some implied racism involved as well. Imani is hurt and devastated, and starts a new Imagegram account under the name of Estelle to post some of her new inspiration and to try to educate people about culture and fashion. Many people like Estelle's account, but Harlee of course does not. Will the school finally clear Imani's name and let her enter the contest?
Strengths: Imani's family was great fun, and it was delightful to get to see all of the delicious food that the father made for the family dinners. I was glad to see that Imani didn't complain about moving such a distance, and that she was able to make friends quickly, even if not all of them worked out. There are strong themes of cultural identity and racial justice. My favorite part was all of Imani's exuberant and colorful fashions. Not many 8th graders can sew clothing, much less have their own machines. Having her work with a mentor, Aida, in the garment industry was fascinating.
Weaknesses: The way the "plagiarism" was handled in the school did not ring true to me at all. Schools are so concerned about law suits these days that it was surprising that Imani was very pointedly guilty until proven innocent. Certainly makes for a more compelling story, though! Also, my students don't care very much about fashion. Most wear sweats and hoodies in gray, black, and navy. Perhaps things in New York City are just very different.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy fashion design and liked Taylor's Sew Zoe books, West's Maybe This Time or Wilson's Be Real, Macy Weaver.
Weaknesses: The way the "plagiarism" was handled in the school did not ring true to me at all. Schools are so concerned about law suits these days that it was surprising that Imani was very pointedly guilty until proven innocent. Certainly makes for a more compelling story, though! Also, my students don't care very much about fashion. Most wear sweats and hoodies in gray, black, and navy. Perhaps things in New York City are just very different.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy fashion design and liked Taylor's Sew Zoe books, West's Maybe This Time or Wilson's Be Real, Macy Weaver.
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