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In Every Mirror She's Black by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström
Contemporary fiction

In Every Mirror She's Black

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström, on your first book!

by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström

Quick take

This absorbing debut turns a mirror on modern-day Sweden to reveal the ins and outs of life for three Black women.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_MultipleNarrators

    Multiple viewpoints

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_Tech

    Tech world

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_Immigration

    Immigration

Synopsis

Successful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi is lured from the U.S. to Sweden by Jonny von Lundin, CEO of the nation's largest marketing firm, to help fix a PR fiasco involving a racially tone-deaf campaign. A killer at work but a failure in love, Kemi's move is a last-ditch effort to reclaim her social life.

A chance meeting with Jonny in business class en route to the U.S. propels former model-turned-flight-attendant Brittany-Rae Johnson into a life of wealth, luxury, and privilege—a life she's not sure she wants—as the object of his unhealthy obsession.

And refugee Muna Saheed, who lost her entire family, finds a job cleaning the toilets at Jonny's office as she works to establish her residency in Sweden and, more importantly, seeks connection and a place she can call home.

Told through the perspectives of each of the three women, In Every Mirror She's Black is a fast-paced, richly nuanced yet accessible contemporary novel that touches on important social issues of racism, classism, fetishization, and tokenism, and what it means to be a Black woman navigating a white-dominated society.

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Content warning

This book contains scenes that depict suicide and abuse.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of In Every Mirror She's Black.

Why I love it

My favorite novels always begin with the characters. Are they memorable and believable, can I hope and laugh with them, do they teach me something new? Of course, I'd like an interesting plot, realistic dialogue, beautiful sentences, but I'll forgive the lack of any of these for strong characters. What an absolute gift then, that in In Every Mirror She’s Black we don't lack for anything at all.

There are three protagonists in the novel: Brittany, a former model turned flight attendant; Muna, a refugee originally from Somalia; and Kemi, a Nigerian American marketing executive. All three are Black women, who have or will be making their way to Sweden from someplace else. And all three are connected via a fourth character, Jonny von Lundin, a wealthy business owner.

This is a book with scope. You follow these women over multiple years; you see them struggle with their careers, their love lives. You watch them adjust to Swedish society, and encounter both classism and racism, which take the form of incidents that run the gamut from creepily subtle to hideously direct. And it is clear from the start that these are three distinct women—their individual journeys deftly illustrating the simple truth that Black women and their experiences are not a monolith. Brittany, Kemi, and Muna have very different values. They make different decisions and different mistakes.

I left this book having been moved, educated, and entertained. It is thrilling, disturbing, mysterious, sexy, and above all, complex. Brittany, Kemi, and Muna will live in my head for a long time, and I don't think you could ask for anything more from a novel.

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Member ratings (1,270)

  • Alex G.

    Marietta, GA

    OMG!! I just finished this book and I’m trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. It was a beautiful story of three women all on similar journeys, following completely separate path. The ending… WOW!!!

  • Andrene H.

    Brooklyn, NY

    Most of my reads are psychological thrillers, however I am extremely glad that I chose this add-on to read. I was hooked from the beginning to the end, and the stories of Mu, Br, and Ke will remain…

  • Michele P.

    Cibolo, TX

    Masterful storytelling, take the journey with these three very different women and experience Sweden through their eyes. The ending is heartbreaking in some ways with one exception I understand.

  • Kayla K.

    San Francisco, CA

    Wow, this was such a powerful book! I loved the multiple perspectives & each of the characters were so well-developed. It’s hard to believe this was a debut, the writing & plot were excellent!

  • Tricia M.

    Avon, CT

    This was a wonderful well written book. The story of three beautiful women was so eloquently told I felt like I knew them personally. I became so involved in lives, I couldn’t put it down.