The Black Kids is a young adult historical fiction novel that centers around Rodney King and the LA Riots that resulted from the overwhelming injustice. We get to see the 1992 incident and subsequent fallout from the perspective of Ashley, a black girl in a pretty posh environment with an affluent and semi-sheltered upbringing. Her parents always want a life for her and her sister that is different from the ones they had growing up. There are few black kids at her school and all of her friends are white. She is a senior and supposed to be having the time of her life before more responsibilities kick in. With all of that in mind, the stage of this book has been set and now we start to get insights from Ashley knowing all that we know about her, her family, her friends, and the climate of Los Angeles in 1992. This book cover so many topics and a lot of them you expect to find in this essential story: systemic racism & police brutality, classism, privilege, family life, coming-of-age, identity and discovery, etc. The discussions this book can launch are endless and I think this would make a great book club or summer reading type book due to all the thoughts and conversations it will create. I was not in love with Ashley, per se, as I felt her POV was a little judgy and rambly at times... and her friends are pretty shallow to me. But some of the side characters in the book make up for those small grievances and issues with the main character that I had. It's impressive to me that this is the author's debut novel and I can definitely say I will read more from her as this book is one I will be recommending for sure! 4 stars!