Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advance review copy for an honest review. The Black Kids tells a story not only of racial injustice, but what it’s like coming of age during a time where you’re unsure of where you stand in the world. Ashley has always been “the black girl” among her friends. Taking the little microaggressions in stride, trying not to let them get to her, thinking of the other black kids she encounters as the “them”, not because she doesn’t realize she’s black, but because they aren’t what she knows. After all, she’s known her friends since they were kids and yeah they may say dumb shit, but they don’t mean any harm right? And considering the privileged life she’s been able to lead, she probably doesn’t have a right to complain. That’s part of the reason she has such a hard time connecting to her older sister. Jo wants to fight injustice, but has she ever really experienced injustice? After all, how many Black kids get the opportunity to crash not one but two luxury cars? So yeah, maybe Ashley doesn’t feel like she and her sister have a right to complain, but that doesn’t make what’s going on right.

With Rodney King’s beating and trial going on, suddenly things that Ashley never tried to give much thought to are popping up more and more. She’s not only dealing with prom, graduation, and the prospect of college, but now people all over the city are angry. Suddenly her safe sheltered world is anything but. There’s rioting in the streets, neighborhoods are being burned down, protests are being held throughout the city, and Ashley’s quiet little neighborhood is feeling the effects. It soon becomes clear that Ashley can’t stay neutral for long. Not when things are reaching their boiling points and her mistakes are bubbling to the surface.

The biggest thing I enjoyed about this book was the fact that we got to see Ashley learn and grow along the way. She’s not the perfect teenager and she messes up countless times. From the beginning, it’s clear that she’s bothered by the little comments her friends make or that her Blackness always seems to be a joke or fun fact, but she never confronts her friends about it, because what good would it do? They don’t mean any harm right? Wrong. Microaggressions still hurt, no matter who they come from, no matter what the intention. Ashley eventually realizes this when she commits a microaggression of her own that she can’t take back. Suddenly she’s learning just how much destruction words or casual comments can cause when said to the wrong people or with the wrong tone.

We follow Ashley as she moves along her journey and comes to understand who she is. She’s not just learning about and witnessing racial injustice, but dealing with being on the outs with her sister during a crisis, keeping a secret from one of her best friends, boy trouble, parental expectations, and having to come to terms with the woman who helped raise her leaving to return to her own family. Not to mention her family being directly impacted by the riots in LA. Ashley is attempting to find her place in the world and it just so happens that that world is imploding.

Overall Ashley learns some hard lessons and family secrets along the way and I truly believed she comes out on the opposite end, not completely grown, but showing signs of definite growth. It’s hard being a Black woman in this country, but Black Girl Magic is a beautiful thing to witness.