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aforestofbooks 's review for:
The Black Kids
by Christina Hammonds Reed
Thank you so much to Netgalley for an arc of this book!
Me, being the idiot I am, very briefly skimmed the synopsis and completely missed the fact that this book takes place in the 90s lol, so for a part of it I was very confused why walkmans were a thing, and why no one was on social media, or had cellphones. So don't be like me, and actually read the synopsis.
Reading this book was an experience. Seeing how closely our present lives mirror that of people in 1992 was eerie and sad. To think that it's been 28 years since the LA Uprising, and the world has learned nothing since then. It's horrifying and awful, and this book really goes to show how much has stayed the same. I'm really glad I picked this one up right now, not just because of everything going on in the US right now, but also because it was quite eye-opening. I had never heard of the LA Uprising, and the more I read, the more I got to learn, as our main character Ashely learns about what is happening.
One thing I did like about this book is the unique perspective. Ashley is a privileged Black girl. Her parents have worked hard and tried their best to shield her and her sister from the kind of childhood they had, and so she grows up aware, yet unaware of the true brutalities and difficulties that other Black people face. Her friends are all white and she lets their racist comments slide by because she's trying to fit in and not make a big deal about everything. Her sister, on the other hand, grew up more aware, and chose to educate herself about what was going on in different parts of the world, as well as in her own backyard. And throughout the book we see the tension between the two sisters as Ashely tries to tell Jo to stop trying to fix things and protest and just come home.
This isn't a perspective that I've read about before. Most books I've read that centre on Black stories, feature main characters who are right in the middle of it. But despite that, we still see that Ashley does experience things that white people don't (the stares, the comments, the slurs), yet she's also fortunate because she has money and can afford to go to a private school and have access to better education.
I really enjoyed seeing Ashley's relationship develop with LaShawn and Lana, and how she starts to see her friends for who they really are. Also, her closeness to Lucia was so heartwarming and I loved seeing how they spend time together. We also learn so much more about Ashley's family, most of which she was unaware of. It highlighted a history that I know I haven't learned as a Canadian, but I'm sure many people in the US haven't either.
Overall, I do recommend this one, and I also suggest learning more about the LA Uprising after you finish reading it. I wish the book had a little afterwards explaining more about what happened in 1992 and why the author chose to write about this specific event, but other than that, this was a pretty great read. I don't think I loved the writing style, but it didn't take away from the story. Besides that, my only other complaint is that parts of it did read slow and it felt like not a lot was happening. For a book under 400 pages, it did take me longer to get through than I was expecting.
Me, being the idiot I am, very briefly skimmed the synopsis and completely missed the fact that this book takes place in the 90s lol, so for a part of it I was very confused why walkmans were a thing, and why no one was on social media, or had cellphones. So don't be like me, and actually read the synopsis.
Reading this book was an experience. Seeing how closely our present lives mirror that of people in 1992 was eerie and sad. To think that it's been 28 years since the LA Uprising, and the world has learned nothing since then. It's horrifying and awful, and this book really goes to show how much has stayed the same. I'm really glad I picked this one up right now, not just because of everything going on in the US right now, but also because it was quite eye-opening. I had never heard of the LA Uprising, and the more I read, the more I got to learn, as our main character Ashely learns about what is happening.
One thing I did like about this book is the unique perspective. Ashley is a privileged Black girl. Her parents have worked hard and tried their best to shield her and her sister from the kind of childhood they had, and so she grows up aware, yet unaware of the true brutalities and difficulties that other Black people face. Her friends are all white and she lets their racist comments slide by because she's trying to fit in and not make a big deal about everything. Her sister, on the other hand, grew up more aware, and chose to educate herself about what was going on in different parts of the world, as well as in her own backyard. And throughout the book we see the tension between the two sisters as Ashely tries to tell Jo to stop trying to fix things and protest and just come home.
This isn't a perspective that I've read about before. Most books I've read that centre on Black stories, feature main characters who are right in the middle of it. But despite that, we still see that Ashley does experience things that white people don't (the stares, the comments, the slurs), yet she's also fortunate because she has money and can afford to go to a private school and have access to better education.
I really enjoyed seeing Ashley's relationship develop with LaShawn and Lana, and how she starts to see her friends for who they really are. Also, her closeness to Lucia was so heartwarming and I loved seeing how they spend time together. We also learn so much more about Ashley's family, most of which she was unaware of. It highlighted a history that I know I haven't learned as a Canadian, but I'm sure many people in the US haven't either.
Overall, I do recommend this one, and I also suggest learning more about the LA Uprising after you finish reading it. I wish the book had a little afterwards explaining more about what happened in 1992 and why the author chose to write about this specific event, but other than that, this was a pretty great read. I don't think I loved the writing style, but it didn't take away from the story. Besides that, my only other complaint is that parts of it did read slow and it felt like not a lot was happening. For a book under 400 pages, it did take me longer to get through than I was expecting.