Book Review: The List by Yomi Adegoke

Ola is a well known journalist who writes for an online magazine. She is engaged to Michael, who is a former podcast pro and about to start a new career. The two are what the kids call “Couple Goals”. She is also an outspoken feminist and makes her voice loud and clear on social media. She is the first to believe women and call out badly behaved men. Ola is knee deep in wedding planning and everything is going well until 2 weeks before the wedding, their whole lives are turned upside down.

A list has been shared on Twitter. It’s an anonymous list that consists of men accused of varying degrees of sexual assault or inappropriate behavior. Michael is on the list. Suddenly Ola finds herself having to put money where her mouth is. Does she cancel the wedding this close or is this a set up from a disgruntled woman from Michael’s past?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of how realistic it was. It’s very easy to spout “believe women” when it is hypothetical but what would you do when it hits home directly. I like how Adegoke depicted Ola’s turmoil between doing what she would have done and grappling with not being able to reconcile the accusation with the Michael she knows.

Adegoke was able to weave past back stories and really flesh out Ola and Michael’s lives separately so we get a good picture of the characters we are following. I liked how Adegoke kept the friends as supporting characters that moved the story along but never overtook or felt like an unnecessary storyline.

On the flip, sometimes the book leaned heavy into being social media buzzy. What do I mean by that, you ask? Well, it had a heavy social media emphasis and at some point it seemed like she was speaking social media language to appeal to that audience. I didn’t mind it so much because I think that was part of what Adegoke was trying to convey, the pressures that come with that world.

I am not sure how this would be received by sexual assault survivors because in some way, it provided an out. The fact that the list was anonymous and unverifiable and anyone could add to it made it seem like it couldn’t be taken seriously. The twist at the end was interesting, to say the least.

Overall, I did like the book but I feel like it would be a divisive one where you either really like it or you don’t. If you have read it, I would love to know what you thought about it. Let us know in the comments!

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