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popthebutterfly 's review for:
The Cost of Knowing
by Brittney Morris
Disclaimer: I received this earc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Cost of Knowing
Author: Brittany Morris
Book Series: Standalone
Diversity: Black main characters and side characters
Rating: 5/5
Recommended For...: YA readers, sibling relationships, slight sci-fi readers
Genre: YA Sci-fi (more contemporary than sci-fi)
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 336
Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, anxiety, slight romance, slight language)
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah. But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short.
It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. When he touches a scoop, he has a vision of him using it to scoop ice cream. When he touches his car, he sees it years from now, totaled and underwater. When he touches Talia, he sees them at the precipice of breaking up, and that terrifies him. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life.
And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.
With Alex now in a race against time, death, and circumstances, he and Isaiah must grapple with their past, their future, and what it means to be a young Black man in America in the present.
Review: Oh my goodness I am a huge fan of Brittany Morris now! I absolutely loved this story and I loved the premise of it. The book did well to develop the characters and with the world building. The book was equal parts heartbreaking and equal parts rallying as you cheered for Alex to fix the timeline. I also loved the message of this book and how Brittany Morris wrote it as a love letter to Black men that had to grow up too young. The book expertly shows the struggles Black men go through and I hope this book will be used in classrooms within the next decade to teach students the reality of our world for Black men. The atmosphere of the book reminded me a lot of They Both Die at the End with Long Way Down and Dear Martin mixed in.
The only issue I had with the book is that in some spots the pacing slows down, but overall I loved this.
Verdict: Highly recommend!
Book: The Cost of Knowing
Author: Brittany Morris
Book Series: Standalone
Diversity: Black main characters and side characters
Rating: 5/5
Recommended For...: YA readers, sibling relationships, slight sci-fi readers
Genre: YA Sci-fi (more contemporary than sci-fi)
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 336
Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, anxiety, slight romance, slight language)
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah. But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short.
It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. When he touches a scoop, he has a vision of him using it to scoop ice cream. When he touches his car, he sees it years from now, totaled and underwater. When he touches Talia, he sees them at the precipice of breaking up, and that terrifies him. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life.
And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.
With Alex now in a race against time, death, and circumstances, he and Isaiah must grapple with their past, their future, and what it means to be a young Black man in America in the present.
Review: Oh my goodness I am a huge fan of Brittany Morris now! I absolutely loved this story and I loved the premise of it. The book did well to develop the characters and with the world building. The book was equal parts heartbreaking and equal parts rallying as you cheered for Alex to fix the timeline. I also loved the message of this book and how Brittany Morris wrote it as a love letter to Black men that had to grow up too young. The book expertly shows the struggles Black men go through and I hope this book will be used in classrooms within the next decade to teach students the reality of our world for Black men. The atmosphere of the book reminded me a lot of They Both Die at the End with Long Way Down and Dear Martin mixed in.
The only issue I had with the book is that in some spots the pacing slows down, but overall I loved this.
Verdict: Highly recommend!