Everyone's Thinking It

By Aleema Omotoni | Hardcover

Mean Girls meets Dear White People in this big-hearted, sharp-witted UK boarding school story about family, friendship, and belonging—with a propulsive mystery at its heart.

Within the walls of Wodebury Hall, an elite boarding school in the English countryside, reputation is everything. But aspiring photographer Iyanu is more comfortable observing things safely from behind her camera.

For Iyanu’s estranged cousin, Kitan, life seems perfect. She has money, beauty, and friends like queen bee Heather. But as a Nigerian girl in a school as white and insular as Wodebury, Kitan struggles with the personal sacrifices needed to keep her place—and the protection she gets—within the exclusive popular crowd.

Then photos from Iyanu’s camera are stolen and splashed across the school the week before the Valentine’s Day Ball—each with a juicy secret written on it. With everyone’s dirty laundry suddenly out in the open, the school explodes in chaos, and the whispers accusing Iyanu of being the one behind it all start to feel like déjà vu.

Each girl is desperate to unravel the mystery of who stole the photos and why. But exposing the truth will change them all forever.

About the Author

Aleema Omotoni is a British-Nigerian author living in England. She writes novels that centre Black teens- especially Black girls- navigating friendships, family and coming of age in all kinds of contemporary and fantasy worlds. Her debut YA Contemporary novel, Everyone’s Thinking It, will be published by HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray and Scholastic UK in 2023. Aleema loves musical theatre, astrophysics and rainy Autumn days snuggled up with a new TV show to binge.