Winner of the 2024 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award, author Jade Adia returns following the success of her debut novel, There Goes the Neighborhood (check out our review).
Adia’s second novel, Our Shouts Echo, is a coming-of-age story about 16-year-old Niarah Holloway, a Los Angeles transplant whose plans to build a doomsday shelter in her backyard collide with an unexpected summer romance and perhaps an even more unexpected change of heart.
Niarah Holloway’s only goal in life is to get through it unnoticed. She intends to spend her first summer in Los Angeles building a doomsday bunker in her backyard. If the past few years have taught Niarah anything, it is that the ocean levels are rising, minimum wage is a scam, and the people who are supposed to protect you will hurt you. Now the only thing that helps Niarah stay afloat amidst the constant waves of anxiety and dread that threaten to drag her under is her new mantra: Be prepared.
But Niarah wasn’t prepared for Mac Torres. Nor for his disarmingly cute face, or for his surfer lifestyle, or for the way his smile resuscitates her heart. Mac is a bomb that blows Niarah’s world to pieces, but instead of disaster, he fills it with sunset bonfires, breakfast burritos, and new friends.
For years, Niarah’s life has revolved around ignoring the demons of her past, avoiding the problems of her present, and preparing for the catastrophes of the future. Now Mac—with his sunshine laugh and infectious optimism— is determined to show her another way to be. But can one summer be enough to light the way to a hopeful future?
After reading Our Shouts Echo, I would respond to that question with an optimistic, albeit not quite resounding, “perhaps”. In a world where the worst can feel inevitable, one summer may be enough to begin to light the way to a hopeful future for Niarah – and for readers. Adia’s protagonist, who has her tedious moments as an obnoxious teenager, is overall disarming in this young adult story and rather relatable. Whether we are avid doomsday preppers or not, the world can seem pretty bleak, and Niarah does not sugarcoat anything in sharing with readers how it is in her world in this almost diary-like account.
While the world may be “going to sh**” (Niarah’s words, and I suppose also mine on occasion), Niarah discovers that the day-to-day doesn’t have to be so bad. Her newfound friendships reinforce the importance of giving people a chance and also taking chances for oneself. Where there is great risk there is often great reward, but taking that first leap of faith is the hardest (if it is even our choice at all). Niarah is essentially forced into extracurricular activities over summer to ensure that she can graduate. Little does she know that meeting Mac, Andrew and Sage will change her worldview for the better – though it won’t change her per se which is exactly the way she intends it to be. Enlightened, but still the same Niarah.
Our Shouts Echo explores the pressures of societal, family and academic expectations, social interaction, and the long, winding road to healing past trauma. It is a very well written dark comedy dealing with serious issues (domestic abuse, depression, suicide) in a way that is at times genuinely funny and full of double meaning. It is also an inclusive novel; it contains a gender-neutral teacher, an LGBT couple and a non-binary friend. At one point in the story, Niarah mentions messing up Sage’s pronouns and feels terribly for it. I found this to be a great reminder that even when we accidentally mess up, we must continue to try – in the context of getting everyone’s pronouns right and beyond. Adia is not scared for her protagonist to make mistakes, acknowledge them, and work on improving them. Another great lesson from a great author.
Our Shouts Echo features short, sharp chapters interspersed with doomsday survival tips, some text message formatting, plus other enjoyable tidbits like Andrew’s bonfire menu. The diverse layout may keep young readers engaged through some of the more dialogue-heavy parts of the story. I read this book as an advanced reader copy on Kindle, and while some of these displays weren’t clean on the device, I suspect that in the printed version of the book they will be very clear and a fun addition to the book.
I sincerely enjoyed the philosophies and quotes reflected on in this story. One of my favorites – “If we’re not supposed to dance, why all this music?” by Gregory Orr – reinforced the tale as an intimate account and one that shines light on the good despite the bad. These sorts of themes, coupled with teen-romance inserts like “Let Me Tell You About Mac” and “Let Me Tell You About Mac (Again)” in which Niarah shares all her observations about the boy she is clearly swooning over from day one, add not only a relatable, but also intellectual dimension to the story in a light-hearted way and without getting too heavy (given some of the more serious underpinnings).
Ultimately, Our Shouts Echo is a passionate young adult novel full of wit and charm. It positively adds to Adia’s repertoire and is a strong follow-up novel to There Goes The Neighborhood. I would recommend it to all young readers, especially those of us who continue to learn a lot from Adia’s lessons on “gentrification, Black teen joy, and the sh**show that is capitalism.”
Our Shouts Echo was released on August 27, 2024.