Summary

Every Body Looking presents Ada, the main character and first-person narrator, attending her high school graduation ceremony where her divorced parents are both in attendance. Throughout the day, she must navigate her parent’s inability to confront each other, therefore forcing her to juggle having two families to attend to throughout the day, including separate photos and dinners. Ada strongly anticipates departing her small city where her black-ness as a Nigerian woman stands out amongst a “sea of perfect white” (7).

After the ceremony, Ada’s mother hints at wanting to see where Ada lives. Ada avoids her mother’s touch but brings her to her house where she lives with her father before he gets home. Upon arriving, they lose track of time looking at family photos before Ada’s father returns home while Ada’s mother is squatting in Ada...