[8][5] The clash of Nigerian and English cultures made her write the first parts of the book in the train.

[9][1] The book deals with themes of racism, gender and identity all inspired by May's personal life when she moved from Nigeria to London as a biracial woman.

[10][11] Set in London, Ronke, Simi and Boo are friends who met at the university in Bristol 17 years ago; they are biracial having English mothers and Nigerian fathers.

Another review by NPR stated that "Wahala is both great fun and extremely smart in how it captures some of the central issues in modern city living".

[7] A review from Publishers Weekly noted that "May’s nuanced exploration of race and gender makes this refreshing.”[12] In May 2021, it was announced that BBC had optioned the novel for a TV series with Theresa Ikoko, who is known for her work in Knocks writing the screenplay.