I received this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Racism, violence, use of the n-word as a slur.

In 1992, a black man called Rodney King was the victim of police brutality. The officers were acquitted of all charges, which led to massive protests and riots in LA. The Black Kids follows Ashley Bennett, one of the few black students in her privileged high school and the only black girl in her group of rich friends. Ashley has always been aware of the ways she has been treated differently because of her skin colour and the second chances she wouldn't have, if she was ever caught doing something illegal. While watching the riots get closer to her own home, and begin affecting her own family, Ashley begins to really think about her place in the world as a black woman and what it really means to be on of "the black kids."

I absolutely loved this book and there were so many moments that felt so important, and it honestly felt like a privilege to read Ashley's journey as she really grew up and became someone more than she had always been. Someone not only proud of her blackness but ready to take on those who would try and put her down because of it. I also loved her journey in learning about her real friend group, and how it was important to have people in her circle that looked like her, and understood her experiences, while still maintaining friendships with the girls she had known since she was a child.

"Sometimes there is an us, sometimes there is a them, and sometimes it's okay to be a we."

It is actually almost infuriating, no, it is infuriating that reading this book didn't feel like something happening in the 90s. Because it's so, so similar to what's been happening this year, and last year and the year before that because of the continued use of police brutality against the black community and systemic racism in the US as well as many other countries. Apart from the lack of mobile phones and other technology, this book could easily be set right now.

Ashley isn't always the nicest person in this book but she definitely grows and becomes a better person, and learns a lot more understanding and acceptance for people in her life she had difficulty with before like her sister Jo and her mother. We also see her gain a whole new level of maturity when dealing with her nanny Lucia's departure home.

"Sometimes it's hard being a girl, and it's hard being black. Being both is like carrying a double load, but you're not suppose to complain about it. There are so many things you have to remember about how to be."

I really liked the family moments in this book. There are a lot of ups and downs and some really terrible moments and moments full of nastiness and tension but there's also a whole load of love. I feel like as a reader I really understood where Ashley's parents had come from and how hard they worked to be where they were in the novel. And I love that we got some family history too in the form of Grandma Shirley's story, as well as some snippets about Grandma Opal.

Families are every changing and in constant flux because of how people change and grow. And not everyone does that together or at the same pace so there will be friction as people struggle to adjust and understand and accept. I really felt this with Ashley's family.

"I can't tell if loneliness is being black, or being young, or being a girl."

Warning that Ashley's friend group in this book is the literal worst and I'm not sure by the end they got any better, the ones still around anyways. One of her friends does use the N-word at one point and I felt really shocked and repulsed like the reader was suppose to be. I think the plot dropped here a bit slightly and this got lost with Jo's storyline replacing it in importance. We never really got to see any other conversations or 'showdowns' between Ashley and Michael or Kimberly. There's literally never another scene with Michael after prom which is strange.

The book jumps into some memories now and again, and I think hey were a little bit clunky at times but I was so into the story I didn't find myself too confused and I was enjoying the ride.

An all-time favourite scene has to be prom when LaShawn braided Ashley's hair for her. It was so tender and gorgeous, and I could really picture it in my mind. This tall, strong man nimbly cradling Ashley and plaiting her hair? I mean SWOON!
-On that note, I loved LaShawn and I had a total crush on him. He was definitely a bit too good to be true sometimes but I loved this portrayal of this tall, strong basketball playing guy who was actually a big cinnamon roll who could quote Emily Dickinson, talk sci-fi with the nerdy, loner girl, and braid hair. I need him in real life please.

This is such a great book which really made me think about a lot of things - from history repeating itself constantly, and white folk seemingly never learning how to just be better and be allies and supportive. Looking through the eyes of a girl who is afraid of a cop, someone who is suppose to protect her, just because of the colour of her skin and also just a story about families breaking and coming apart, and then coming back together again. And the story of a young girl figuring out the woman she wants to be.