Synopsis
Los Angeles, 1992
Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.
Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.
As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family façade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.
With her world splintering around her, Ashley, along with the rest of LA, is left to question who is the us? And who is the them?
The Good
A. This would be a good read for schools/book clubs because it is a good springboard for many conversations- it made me think about and get further understanding about some of things I’ve seen in black community.
-There were many conversations: depression, trauma, classism, microagressions, and more. The issues that stood out to me was classism and trauma.
B. It built on what other black young adult books have set up
-there is a legacy left by every black ya author, it is interesting seeing all these different authors writing on being a black teenager
-This book not only planted seeds but also watered conversations that has been in my mind for awhile
C. Has the voice of black suburban/uppercrust.
-Many young adult books have skirted the voice of suburban/uppercrust black people.
-The lack of their voices has made certain conversations lost:
-the using of money and upward mobility to ascend from racism & shield against racism. Not shielding just in a physical sense but also in a emotional sense.
-the forwarding of the idea that if you have money you should have nothing to complain about, that black people who are not from the hood have no problems especially when it comes to racism
D. Addresses the complicatedness of parenting
-parents make mistakes and parenting is messy
-It is a good voice to speak on how many black parents feels (the mix of I worked hard to make a better life for my kids so they don’t have to deal with what I had to deal with) ties into how many parents deal with their kids blackness (putting them among non-black people who are generally antiblack and in a space of being one of the few black kids), depression (parents: How can you be depressed when there are black people who don’t have it as good as you/you are not dealing with what I had to deal with)
F. The history of the Bennett family
That portion really sold the novel for me (if you have read this story you will see majority of my likes was based off this portion)
-intergenerational trauma, legacy, even though black history can be painful not hiding/forgetting history
-Way too many people hiding from trauma wanting a fresh start
The Bad
- The voice = there is a detachment with events happening that kept me from really loving the story or main character. I have to acknowledge that our main character Ashley is meant to be a flawed character so that may have been the detachment. As a reader who likes a lot of flawed characters she just was not compelling enough for me.
- It took me a long time to get to the part I really enjoyed and I felt I was getting something out of.
- A lot of info dump right off the back but not creating connection with the characters and story. It wanted to deal with tough issues but goes in immediately ‘telling’ instead of showing what it wants us to feel and think about.
- Bunch of useless information or I just don’t care about information
- Also, having a ensemble cast of characters means they have to be interesting
- I’m not interested in microaggression conversations unless the story is going to really go off on it (she really did not confront it so…)- part of me feels we (black people) have exhausted what there is to say about these things and I personally want to go internally to focus on us. When we get more into intraracial conversations things get interesting for me.
The Meh
I don’t know if it gave enough to the conversations on riots? looters?
For awhile when I was reading there was a part of me that felt Lashawn, looters, and basically a lot of people would have been better to follow than Ashley. I think I was frustrated with some of the things I mentioned in the negative but also there is a lot of interesting story in these characters. I question if there would have been more focus on the riots which I was expected when I first started the story.
Pop cultural references forced? off? Misplaced?
Ashley ended the story not changing a lot…which can be seen as good/bad thing it is probably realistic. Did she really get retribution for all wrong she did?
Thoughts
I feel a way about about how we portray socially conscious/activist people and revolution. There is way too many imagery in media against revolution and social activism in general.
I don’t like the framing of black history as all these negative connotations – I like we are seeing a lot of black books talking about not forgetting and reconnecting with our history.
I won this book from SDCC giveaway by Rivetedlit.com
(image and synopsis is from goodreads)
themollyweather 