Sweet Sixteen was featured in the 2019 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the Novel for Literature in English.

He was concerned with the "kind of values they were growing up with in the midst of so much that was happening all over the country" and wrote his eldest daughter a letter.

She shared the note with her friends, some of whom contacted Abdullahi to discuss topics such as sexuality, prompting him to write Sweet Sixteen in order to reach a larger group of people.

[2] A reviewer for The Guardian, Akin Oseni, noted that "whether Bolaji Abdullahi has been a success as a politician or otherwise is an exclusive debate for political jurists to negotiate.

"[3] The Daily Trust wrote that it was a "compelling tale, loaded with morality and textured with a rich lyrical prose and young adult lingo…story-story, my bestie, OMG among others.