If We Were a Movie by debut Cuban-Jamaican American author Zakiya N. Jamal is the queer teenage love story we all need in our lives right now. The publisher describes the book as Booksmart meets Phantom of the Megaplex in this enthralling enemies-to-lovers queer romance set against the backdrop of an historic Black-owned movie theater.
Developed by Electric Postcard Entertainment, where the original idea was a rivals-to-lovers story between a boy and a girl working at a Black owned movie theater, Jamal was able to work with the book packager to make the story her own. “I made a few tweaks to that idea. I knew that I wanted to tell a sapphic love story because… we still don’t have enough of those,” she told Latina Media Co. Jamal also included a lot of her personal experiences growing up to help shape the book. It’s set on Long Island, NY where she’s from and the main character Rochelle, has a single mom who’s a lawyer and a deceased father like the author.
But If We Were a Movie is not autobiographical. “Getting into Rochelle’s head was so hard. I know it sounds funny because I was writing her, but it took me a couple of tries before I figured out what her motivations were and why she disliked Amira,” Jamal told us. “That’s how the book ended up in first person. Originally, I was writing in third person, but I felt like I really needed to get into her thoughts, so I made the switch to first person and that finally cracked her open for me.”
With the current political climate, we’ve seen an increase in the call for book bans when it comes to marginalized voices. Now more than ever, it’s important for writers to produce stories that reflect the world, and bring joy. “There are a lot of people who wish queer people didn’t exist. Many people even pretend that we don’t. And so having queer stories helps show people, particularly young people, that we are here, and we’re not going anywhere,” the debut author shared. “With Black queer stories specifically, I often feel like Black readers are forced to choose between getting a Black story or a queer story, and we don’t see both enough. So I’d like to help fill that gap so that Black queer people can see themselves more fully represented.”
Movie theaters are a cornerstone in our communities, especially for young people – it’s where we go to hangout, escape reality, and build special connections. Jamal noted that in the process of writing this book, “I started to think about why movie theaters are so important, and I remembered how when I was a kid, my brother would take me to the movies. We have different mom’s and didn’t grow up in the same house, so going to the movies was his way of hanging out with me. We’d always go to the Multiplex Cinemas in Jamaica, Queens and get popcorn with Twizzlers, which I know sounds gross, but it was so good, and I put that into the book.”
Throughout If We Were a Movie, Rochelle and her mom have this kind of push and pull about Rochelle’s goals for herself and for her future, and Jamal is on Rochelle’s mom’s side. She wants readers, particularly teens and new adults, to remember to have fun. “Life is scary and hard, and I think kids, especially kids of color, put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well at school and I’d like to tell them to take a deep breath. Give yourself a break. Remember to enjoy the time you have now too, before it’s gone.”
The characters are planning for their future, which is always stressful, but can feel particularly fraught right now. “I think any university who is bowing down to this administration’s demands to cut DEI programs isn’t a university worth attending, and I think a lot of students agree,” Jamal asserted. “We’re seeing it especially with Columbia where enrollment has gone down and I truthfully hope it continues. Obviously, unfortunately, students still need degrees to get to the careers they want (though not all!) and so my best advice is to focus on what you can control… I didn’t get into my first choice school when I applied to college, but I think I turned out just fine!”
