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How It Went Down
A 2015 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
One death. Two bullets. Seven eyewitnesses...with seven different stories.
When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white.
In the aftermath of Tariq's death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth.
Tariq's friends, family, and community struggle to make sense of the tragedy, and to cope with the hole left behind when a life is cut short. In their own words, they grapple for a way to say with This is how it went down.
This title has Common Core connections.
One death. Two bullets. Seven eyewitnesses...with seven different stories.
When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white.
In the aftermath of Tariq's death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth.
Tariq's friends, family, and community struggle to make sense of the tragedy, and to cope with the hole left behind when a life is cut short. In their own words, they grapple for a way to say with This is how it went down.
This title has Common Core connections.
326 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2014
367 people are currently reading
12726 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,594 reviews
November 20, 2014
This book is a beautiful reminder of why I cherish getting older. I've personally attended more funerals than weddings, I lost a three year old cousin to a drive by shooting who was playing outside with his six year older brother. His brother held him in his arms while he took his last breaths. I remember the counseling, the fact he wouldn't talk to anyone and his struggle in school. Let's skip forward to another cousin: he's my nineteen year old cousin and couldn't afford his fall tuition (kept it a secret from his family) he went down the street to the store, had words with some guys, they shot him in the back while he was running, came up and than shot him point blank in the head. I remember the president, the dean of students, most of his freshman class driving from Kentucky for that funeral. I played the piano and sang.
Kekla Magoon paints a backdrop that acknowledges "regular 'ole urban street life"---AND YET, keeps unpacking layers. This book may make you uncomfortable, and while I'm not hear to unpack white privilege, I am here to be a voice that it is still a prevalent concept in this world we live in. I could go on about other stories when I taught at the high school level, in an area that was "up for grabs"---and I went because I wanted to give back to the community that helped shape me.
This book is necessary in reminding me how compartmentalized my life always was. I loved reading Steve & Will's perspective because my brother always struggled between two worlds of seeing the lives of where his neighborhood friends were headed against the backdrop of private Christian school. It was hell. I was always flying solo because I wasn't street enough Acting White The Curious History of the Racial Slur and I definitely was reminded of my color and neighborhood at school. The elephant in the room is still very much in having a needed discourse on race relations in America. It's hard to express how I can work so hard to be good at my field, and still get told (by my colleagues) I made it for my race quota---or how much easier it is as an educated person of color to find a job. Anyway, before my rage sets in----let's get back to this book at hand.
I could go on and on...relatives, friends, acquaintances. I lived in the line that divided the urban and the elite. My parents moved their in the 1970s when the neighborhood was well on its way up, and stayed their during the height of the drug/gang violence of the 90s. Now it's just a deteriorating neighborhood that is showing slow signs of being re-gentrified.
What does that have to do with this book? EVERYTHING. ABSOLUTELY-EVERY-FUCKING THING I FIGHT SO HARD FOR. An open understanding into MULTIPLE POVS of characters that try to reason with events that happen around them. I can't wait to meet Kekla Magoon---I'm going to buy this book and probably cry and thank her because there is some little girl that lives between multiple worlds and this book may help her in understanding herself. Every single guy listed: Tyrell, Tariq, Noodle, Brick, the Rev. [insert your pick of an older generation campaigning black leader here], Steve, Will---their fathers or mentioned lack thereof. THEY ARE REAL TO ME. What's even better, is I have so many people I know that can relate, empathize and appreciate (of ALL creeds, colors, etc) all the pages inside. That's how amazing her writing is----it was as if I opened this book, and walked down a block...and there I was.
The girls: Jennica, Kimberly, Tina, Tariq's mother & grandmother, even the elderly Hispanic "watcher"---- their rationalizations, observations, choices, and points of views are so relevant, poignant and most of all a much needed discussion within homes, schools, libraries with ALL youth today. This book is for all us all who are "alive"-----for anyone with a willing spirit in seeking to learn others on the mufti-faceted views of giving people who are living this "street life" a voice. This book gives an interesting view of how media plays into our lives and our communities. We are all connected and just as you are the reader----or the fictional "directly" involved witness shows how many layers can come from trying to figure out (in honest truth) How It Went Down. The hardest aftermath is whether characters are painted "good" "bad" or a "grey"---they are connected to someone...and truly, the heart of the novel, is especially for children----how they can make sense of the world and this lost connection.
I'm going to quote Tina---
I am a big girl
I can stay at home alone.
"No," Mommy says. "I want you close to me."
"Too many people now, when we go outside.
"I know," Mommy says, "But's just for a little while."
"Let's give away all the other people, I say, "and get Tariq back."
It's a good idea, but it makes Mommy cry.
Another one from Tina---
People: too close
People: touching me
Under the pew: safe place to hide
Music: loud
People: wailing
People: talking to Jesus, asking Him why
Fingers: in my ears
Music: sweet
{...}
I don't want to say it
{...}
Big board of photographs: still, so still
Tariq:
If we are going to actually get into the actual story elements. I LOVE how this book has such an ease of fluidity to read, how relevant it is for today's youth, and most of all it is still packed with so much needed themes and issues for discussion. My feelings for this book compounded in recent events I went through on censorship, on child poverty (which is a story best saved for another time), but I won't be discouraged or stop fighting for or believing in kids who can see that they can create a different environment, one where they can hold their head up from where they came from, and reach towards WHEREVER they want to go. I especially want for kids to recognize and affirm with their friends as Kimberly confirms to Jennica,
"I want a different kind of life, too."
I'm rooting that one day we can span some amazing "How It Went Down"---in casting diverse roles, having diverse author panels, or even as Kekla Magoon shows offering a THOUGHT PROVOKING read on sensitive subject.
Thanks for the ARC Edelweiss!
July 11, 2020
Tariq Johnson is a fictional Black teenager.
Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Emmett Till, Tamir Rice, and so many more Black boys are all real.
What do they all have in common? They've been murdered by white men who saw no punishment for the crime.
This is their story. This is meant to be the story of every black neighborhood plagued by poverty and gang violence. The story of the murdered boy's friends, his family, his enemies.
Who was Tariq Johnson? Was he a good student with dreams of college? Was he a gang member? Did he have a gun? Or was he holding a chocolate bar? Was he a good person? Does it matter?
The story is told in alternating POVs - which got a bit much after awhile because it was hard to keep them straight since most of them weren't defined that well. There is confusion, there are different accounts of what happened, and as always people capitalizing off of a tragedy while the media spins it all out of control.
The fascinating thing was that Magoon doesn't paint Tariq as an innocent saint. He was just a regular African-American boy growing up in a poor black neighborhood. There were people who loved him, people who hated him, people who thought he was just another victim of gang violence, and people who just didn't give a flying crap.
But every single one of those people were somehow touched by Tariq's tragic death, their stories get told too. Including the killer's.
I suppose one frustrating thing for me was that there didn't seem to be any closure. But then I realized it was exactly the same as it happens again and again, as it was for Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Emmett Till, Tamir Rice. People make noise, people protest, police ignore them, the jury acquits the murderer, the white killer walks away while the victim is dead. The media makes a bit more noise and then... then it just goes away.
And there's no ending harder to digest that that one. The one that is exactly like real life. The one that goes on, because life does.
Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Emmett Till, Tamir Rice, and so many more Black boys are all real.
What do they all have in common? They've been murdered by white men who saw no punishment for the crime.
This is their story. This is meant to be the story of every black neighborhood plagued by poverty and gang violence. The story of the murdered boy's friends, his family, his enemies.
Who was Tariq Johnson? Was he a good student with dreams of college? Was he a gang member? Did he have a gun? Or was he holding a chocolate bar? Was he a good person? Does it matter?
The story is told in alternating POVs - which got a bit much after awhile because it was hard to keep them straight since most of them weren't defined that well. There is confusion, there are different accounts of what happened, and as always people capitalizing off of a tragedy while the media spins it all out of control.
The fascinating thing was that Magoon doesn't paint Tariq as an innocent saint. He was just a regular African-American boy growing up in a poor black neighborhood. There were people who loved him, people who hated him, people who thought he was just another victim of gang violence, and people who just didn't give a flying crap.
But every single one of those people were somehow touched by Tariq's tragic death, their stories get told too. Including the killer's.
I suppose one frustrating thing for me was that there didn't seem to be any closure. But then I realized it was exactly the same as it happens again and again, as it was for Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Emmett Till, Tamir Rice. People make noise, people protest, police ignore them, the jury acquits the murderer, the white killer walks away while the victim is dead. The media makes a bit more noise and then... then it just goes away.
And there's no ending harder to digest that that one. The one that is exactly like real life. The one that goes on, because life does.
June 18, 2015
I've lived in the suburbs of St. Louis for most of my life. I grew up in Ferguson, which you may know from the news - the national news - every day. Through most of last fall, the shooting death of Michael Brown and the broader issues it raised were at the forefront of my community and the nation's consciousness.
By October, the release month of author Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down - a young-adult novel about an unarmed black teen gunned down on the streets of his neighborhood by a white dude - the subject matter could not have seemed more timely, although its premise more closely fits the Trayvon Martin case than that of Mike Brown.
Magoon tells the story from no less than 17 different points of view. The only person who really knows exactly what happened is Tariq, the dead kid, who can tell no tales. The shooter, Jack, is not given a narrative voice either, although we hear from his buddy Tom, who lives in the neighborhood and had beers with Jack just before the shooting.
The other 16 narrators include Jennica, who intervened on the scene and who works in the neighborhood as a diner waitress; Brian, who also intervened at the time of the incident; Noodle, Jennica's boyfriend, a member of the book's dominant gang, the Kings; Brick, the king King; Sammy, a King and close childhood friend of Tariq; Junior, who's in prison and was Tariq's other closest boyhood buddy; Tyrell, Tariq's friend, not a king; Will (aka eMZee), spray paint graffiti artist; and Will's rich stepdad. Then there's Tariq's little sister, mom and grandma - and another old lady on the block named Rosalita, who in the movie of How It Went Down would be played by Ruby Dee.
Are you keeping track of all this? You have the brain of a mortal human, so probably not. I quickly had to jot down a who's who of narrators on the back of a bookmark just to keep it all straight. (This is only the second book where I've had to cheat-sheet characters to avoid confusion, the other being Ruta Sepetys's Out of the Easy , which had 40+ characters, six of whom mattered to the plot.)
With How It Went Down , yes, the perspective changes were a good idea. In a gray-area tragedy situation, 17 people will have 17 different opinions. In this case, though, 17 different people are mostly saying words that seem like they originated from the same brain. Especially the seven(!) teenage-boy characters.
These dueling narrators should have been collapsed to roughly half the number. There's no clear distinction of who's who - no reintroduction or reorientation for characters that have been gone for dozens of pages or more - and there's not enough forward plot movement to individualize them clearly. I feel like if there's a reasonable chance one character will be continually confused with another, they shouldn't both be in the same book, at least not as-is.
Then there's the subplot that seems like it belongs in a different book entirely, between Reverend Alabaster (an Al Sharpton clone) and Kimberly, a young, plump intern-type from the neighborhood who remembers being bullied by Tariq but now is maybe fixing to get beat up by a medallion-wearing camera-whore civil rights figurehead. Will their mounting, staggering sexual chemistry get the better of them? Call 911, quick, because the suspense may just kill you.
Ultimately, though, is How It Went Down worth reading? Yeah. Is there some cool, clever stuff here? Yeah. Will you spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways it could have been a way better book? If you're me, you will. Did it get a free pass from the critics at Kirkus, VOYA, SLJ and Publishers Weekly? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Did I look up Kekla Magoon's entire bibliography to see if there's another book that might strike my fancy? I did, and I'll say, I may just read The Rock and the River , possibly the first YA novel set within the Black Panther organization, and I may just also read X , which Magoon co-wrote with Malcolm X's daughter.
By October, the release month of author Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down - a young-adult novel about an unarmed black teen gunned down on the streets of his neighborhood by a white dude - the subject matter could not have seemed more timely, although its premise more closely fits the Trayvon Martin case than that of Mike Brown.
Magoon tells the story from no less than 17 different points of view. The only person who really knows exactly what happened is Tariq, the dead kid, who can tell no tales. The shooter, Jack, is not given a narrative voice either, although we hear from his buddy Tom, who lives in the neighborhood and had beers with Jack just before the shooting.
The other 16 narrators include Jennica, who intervened on the scene and who works in the neighborhood as a diner waitress; Brian, who also intervened at the time of the incident; Noodle, Jennica's boyfriend, a member of the book's dominant gang, the Kings; Brick, the king King; Sammy, a King and close childhood friend of Tariq; Junior, who's in prison and was Tariq's other closest boyhood buddy; Tyrell, Tariq's friend, not a king; Will (aka eMZee), spray paint graffiti artist; and Will's rich stepdad. Then there's Tariq's little sister, mom and grandma - and another old lady on the block named Rosalita, who in the movie of How It Went Down would be played by Ruby Dee.
Are you keeping track of all this? You have the brain of a mortal human, so probably not. I quickly had to jot down a who's who of narrators on the back of a bookmark just to keep it all straight. (This is only the second book where I've had to cheat-sheet characters to avoid confusion, the other being Ruta Sepetys's Out of the Easy , which had 40+ characters, six of whom mattered to the plot.)
With How It Went Down , yes, the perspective changes were a good idea. In a gray-area tragedy situation, 17 people will have 17 different opinions. In this case, though, 17 different people are mostly saying words that seem like they originated from the same brain. Especially the seven(!) teenage-boy characters.
These dueling narrators should have been collapsed to roughly half the number. There's no clear distinction of who's who - no reintroduction or reorientation for characters that have been gone for dozens of pages or more - and there's not enough forward plot movement to individualize them clearly. I feel like if there's a reasonable chance one character will be continually confused with another, they shouldn't both be in the same book, at least not as-is.
Then there's the subplot that seems like it belongs in a different book entirely, between Reverend Alabaster (an Al Sharpton clone) and Kimberly, a young, plump intern-type from the neighborhood who remembers being bullied by Tariq but now is maybe fixing to get beat up by a medallion-wearing camera-whore civil rights figurehead. Will their mounting, staggering sexual chemistry get the better of them? Call 911, quick, because the suspense may just kill you.
Ultimately, though, is How It Went Down worth reading? Yeah. Is there some cool, clever stuff here? Yeah. Will you spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways it could have been a way better book? If you're me, you will. Did it get a free pass from the critics at Kirkus, VOYA, SLJ and Publishers Weekly? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Did I look up Kekla Magoon's entire bibliography to see if there's another book that might strike my fancy? I did, and I'll say, I may just read The Rock and the River , possibly the first YA novel set within the Black Panther organization, and I may just also read X , which Magoon co-wrote with Malcolm X's daughter.
July 20, 2016
“Black lives matter” is a slogan that should not have to exist.
Because we should take for granted that everybody’s life matters—no matter their skin color, religion, ethnicity, hair color, age, health, abilities, addictions, mental status, or beliefs.
But every day, black people—especially black men—are told, implicitly or explicitly, that their lives don’t matter. That they’re expendable. That they can be shot, stifled, hung, stuffed in a gym mat, or die of a broken neck in the back of a police van—and the people who killed them will never face justice.
I don’t know this from personal experience. I’m white. No one has ever decided I was suspicious—and therefore should be shot—because I was wearing a hoodie. A lot of us white people take it for granted that we’re safe walking after dark, that the police will help us if we need it.
We’re so far removed from this reality that we forget it exists—and when it intrudes undeniably into our safe little worlds, many of us cover our eyes and ears. Some of us can’t empathize with the victims because such things have never happened to us—
—which is why books like How It Went Down and films like Fruitvale Station need to be read and watched by everyone.
Tariq Johnson, our protagonist, is one of many black kids in a poor neighborhood who is shot by a white man, at night, on his way out of the convenience store.
Accounts differ as to how and why this happened. Some say Tariq had a gun; others, that he was holding only a candy bar. Some say that he was in a gang; others, that he hated the violence around him and had vowed never to be a part of it. Some say he had dreams of college and success; others, that he was headed nowhere good. As the community grieves, the media descends like the vultures they are.
We hear the perspectives of everyone—Tariq’s family, friends, frenemies, distant acquaintances, media personalities, even friends of the shooter—except for Tariq himself, and his killer, Jack Franklin.
The question of Tariq’s guilt or innocence is never resolved. All that is known for sure is that Jack Franklin had a gun, and he killed this young man, and he did not face justice.
After a while all the voices start to blend together. There’s no real closure to the plot. But I think both are devices deliberately used by Kekla Magoon, to great effect. She places the reader inside this community, of people grieving and questioning and knowing that this terrible event, for all their pleading and praying and anger and sorrow, will happen again.
NOTE TO SCHOOL LIBRARIANS: This book contains a lot of harsh profanity, a few sexual/drug innuendoes (including the implication of an inappropriate relationship between a pastor/media personality and a young girl), and violence throughout. I didn’t think anything was gratuitous, but I still wouldn’t recommend it to middle school kids.
This is a quick, searing read that will linger with you long after you’re finished with it. It could not have appeared at a more appropriate time. Recommended for everyone mature enough for it.
Because we should take for granted that everybody’s life matters—no matter their skin color, religion, ethnicity, hair color, age, health, abilities, addictions, mental status, or beliefs.
But every day, black people—especially black men—are told, implicitly or explicitly, that their lives don’t matter. That they’re expendable. That they can be shot, stifled, hung, stuffed in a gym mat, or die of a broken neck in the back of a police van—and the people who killed them will never face justice.
I don’t know this from personal experience. I’m white. No one has ever decided I was suspicious—and therefore should be shot—because I was wearing a hoodie. A lot of us white people take it for granted that we’re safe walking after dark, that the police will help us if we need it.
We’re so far removed from this reality that we forget it exists—and when it intrudes undeniably into our safe little worlds, many of us cover our eyes and ears. Some of us can’t empathize with the victims because such things have never happened to us—
—which is why books like How It Went Down and films like Fruitvale Station need to be read and watched by everyone.
Tariq Johnson, our protagonist, is one of many black kids in a poor neighborhood who is shot by a white man, at night, on his way out of the convenience store.
Accounts differ as to how and why this happened. Some say Tariq had a gun; others, that he was holding only a candy bar. Some say that he was in a gang; others, that he hated the violence around him and had vowed never to be a part of it. Some say he had dreams of college and success; others, that he was headed nowhere good. As the community grieves, the media descends like the vultures they are.
We hear the perspectives of everyone—Tariq’s family, friends, frenemies, distant acquaintances, media personalities, even friends of the shooter—except for Tariq himself, and his killer, Jack Franklin.
The question of Tariq’s guilt or innocence is never resolved. All that is known for sure is that Jack Franklin had a gun, and he killed this young man, and he did not face justice.
After a while all the voices start to blend together. There’s no real closure to the plot. But I think both are devices deliberately used by Kekla Magoon, to great effect. She places the reader inside this community, of people grieving and questioning and knowing that this terrible event, for all their pleading and praying and anger and sorrow, will happen again.
NOTE TO SCHOOL LIBRARIANS: This book contains a lot of harsh profanity, a few sexual/drug innuendoes (including the implication of an inappropriate relationship between a pastor/media personality and a young girl), and violence throughout. I didn’t think anything was gratuitous, but I still wouldn’t recommend it to middle school kids.
This is a quick, searing read that will linger with you long after you’re finished with it. It could not have appeared at a more appropriate time. Recommended for everyone mature enough for it.
May 31, 2014
While I found the use of multiple POVs to tell the story the right technique -- this is a story about perception and about the way a story can be told many different ways to cast a person as either good or bad -- I found that none of the character voices were readily distinguishable. I got the voice of the Reverend pretty well, as well as the shopkeeper, but the voices of the teen boys here all blended together. That was effective on the level of muddying the details of what happened to Tariq, it was easy for me as a reader to skim over their stories/biases/stakes.
There should be good discussion of this particular book though, as it delves into what happens when a boy is shot and killed and race is a big factor in how the aftermath of the crime unfolds. Who is to blame? Was Tariq a good guy or a gang initiate? Does it make a difference? What about if the person who killed him was white? There aren't conclusive answers here, which is a huge strength in the book, as it forces readers to consider the bigger implications. Nothing is cut and dry, and Tariq's little sister Tina really sums that up nicely in the end.
Other threads in the story include a subplot about a Reverend seeking political clout as opposed to justice; a young girl being viewed only in terms of her body; what friendship and relationships do or don't mean; and how the media can change the entire story of an event or series of events.
This reminded me a bit of Caroline Bock's LIE in terms of how it uses the multiple POVs. In terms of writing and setting, I kept thinking about Jason Reynolds's WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST. Readers who love Coe Booth's TYRELL/KENDRA/BRONXWOOD will definitely want to pick this up. Magoon's book should appeal to reluctant as well as less reluctant readers because the topic is timely and it's well-rendered here without coming across as trying to capitalize on current events. This is a wholly different story.
There should be good discussion of this particular book though, as it delves into what happens when a boy is shot and killed and race is a big factor in how the aftermath of the crime unfolds. Who is to blame? Was Tariq a good guy or a gang initiate? Does it make a difference? What about if the person who killed him was white? There aren't conclusive answers here, which is a huge strength in the book, as it forces readers to consider the bigger implications. Nothing is cut and dry, and Tariq's little sister Tina really sums that up nicely in the end.
Other threads in the story include a subplot about a Reverend seeking political clout as opposed to justice; a young girl being viewed only in terms of her body; what friendship and relationships do or don't mean; and how the media can change the entire story of an event or series of events.
This reminded me a bit of Caroline Bock's LIE in terms of how it uses the multiple POVs. In terms of writing and setting, I kept thinking about Jason Reynolds's WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST. Readers who love Coe Booth's TYRELL/KENDRA/BRONXWOOD will definitely want to pick this up. Magoon's book should appeal to reluctant as well as less reluctant readers because the topic is timely and it's well-rendered here without coming across as trying to capitalize on current events. This is a wholly different story.
December 22, 2014
There are few books that change the lens through which we examine and see our world. This is one of those powerful and important reads.
January 11, 2019
Likes: Controversial opinion: This book is superior to The Hate U Give in every way. The writing is stronger, the characters are more complex, the plot is less predictable and faster paced. Why are we not talking about How It Went Down? Where is this book’s movie deal? I don’t understand! How It Went Down has a similar plot and themes to The Hate U Give, but it held my attention better.
This is a story about perspective. A black teenager, Tariq Johnson, is murdered on the street by a white adult. The crime is witnessed by a bunch of people, but no one can agree on what actually happened. The witnesses all know Tariq or the shooter, Jack. What the witnesses think happened is influenced by their opinions of the people involved. It’s complicated and layered.
But, this book is about more than a murder. It’s about how Tariq’s friends, family, and enemies react to his death. The story is set in a city that’s plagued by gang violence and poverty. Tariq’s teenage friends are either avoiding the gangs or desperately trying to get accepted by them. For some characters, Tariq’s murder is a reason to commit more violence. For others, it’s a reason to get away from the drug-selling lifestyle.
This story is also bigger than one neighborhood. After the murder, the media and politicians descend on the street where Tariq died. They have their own motives for being there. Are they trying to stop the violence, or are they using Tariq to advance their own careers? Tariq’s murder causes ripples across the entire US.
Dislikes: There are 18 (I think) point-of-view characters. Yeah. That’s a lot of characters. Many of their voices sound similar. It took me about half the book to remember everybody’s name and how they’re all connected to Tariq.
The Bottom Line: This novel has a “ripped from the headlines” plot, but the author doesn’t oversimplify anything. I loved it.
Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense? I have a blog for that.
This is a story about perspective. A black teenager, Tariq Johnson, is murdered on the street by a white adult. The crime is witnessed by a bunch of people, but no one can agree on what actually happened. The witnesses all know Tariq or the shooter, Jack. What the witnesses think happened is influenced by their opinions of the people involved. It’s complicated and layered.
But, this book is about more than a murder. It’s about how Tariq’s friends, family, and enemies react to his death. The story is set in a city that’s plagued by gang violence and poverty. Tariq’s teenage friends are either avoiding the gangs or desperately trying to get accepted by them. For some characters, Tariq’s murder is a reason to commit more violence. For others, it’s a reason to get away from the drug-selling lifestyle.
This story is also bigger than one neighborhood. After the murder, the media and politicians descend on the street where Tariq died. They have their own motives for being there. Are they trying to stop the violence, or are they using Tariq to advance their own careers? Tariq’s murder causes ripples across the entire US.
“I have to make peace, somehow, with my place in all of this. Peach Street is still my home; I can't keep thinking of it as a war zone, or a protest platform, or a deathbed. Put one foot in front of the other, go to work. Read the news, sprinkle liberally with salt. Ring up. Make change. Smile. Chitchat.” – How It Went Down
Dislikes: There are 18 (I think) point-of-view characters. Yeah. That’s a lot of characters. Many of their voices sound similar. It took me about half the book to remember everybody’s name and how they’re all connected to Tariq.
The Bottom Line: This novel has a “ripped from the headlines” plot, but the author doesn’t oversimplify anything. I loved it.
Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense? I have a blog for that.
December 31, 2016
A compelling look at the repercussions of a young black boy being shot by a white man. Reading like something ripped from the headlines, we see all the angles: family, friends, media, neighbors, everyone with their own idea of what might have happened, everyone with their own idea of who the victim, Tariq, was. Not to mention whether he was a victim at all. There are no answers here. For many of the characters there is no closure, because this isn't a fairy tale, it's real life.
One of the most unforgettable moments for me was when someone asks one of the characters what she wanted most in life, if she could have anything. First she said that she wanted to set her own hours at the salon where she works. The man who asked shakes his head, condescending, and then repeats the question: If you could have anything in this world, what would you want? She replies with her most pie-in-the-sky dream: to own her own salon. He finally realizes that for her this is the ultimate. Having grown up in the ghetto, surrounded by gangs, unemployment, and poverty, it doesn't occur to her that she could have anything more in life than a steady job where she is in control. To her, that really is almost as unattainable as living in a palace. It broke my heart.
One of the most unforgettable moments for me was when someone asks one of the characters what she wanted most in life, if she could have anything. First she said that she wanted to set her own hours at the salon where she works. The man who asked shakes his head, condescending, and then repeats the question: If you could have anything in this world, what would you want? She replies with her most pie-in-the-sky dream: to own her own salon. He finally realizes that for her this is the ultimate. Having grown up in the ghetto, surrounded by gangs, unemployment, and poverty, it doesn't occur to her that she could have anything more in life than a steady job where she is in control. To her, that really is almost as unattainable as living in a palace. It broke my heart.
February 11, 2015
The shooting or Tariq Johnson takes place in the fictional urban neighborhood of Underhill. We don't know where Underhill is, and as a result, the reader gets a sense that it could be Everytown, U.S.A. Even so, readers immediately understand that How It Went Down is a book that was inspired by the Trayvon Martin shooting. And yet, despite being written before the most recent deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, it also shares striking similarities to these stories too.
Told in short, page-turning chapters and multiple POVs, this timely novel gets to the heart of people's perceptions and how our own prejudices and experiences impact what we see -- or what we think we see. Did Tariq Johnson have a gun when Jack Franklin shot him? Or was it just a Snickers bar? Was he part of the neighborhood gang? Or did he keep his pact with his best friend Tyrell that they would never be a part of that life? The narrative of "how it went down" and who Tariq was changes depending on who's telling the story, so when readers reach the end of the novel, they are left with more questions than answers. Was Tariq good or bad? And just what do those words mean anyway?
While some of the voices felt a tad inconsistent in places, which is understandable given the number of characters who are narrating the story, overall, How It Went Down is an important, discussion-prompting story, and one that will appeal to many teens.
Read my entire review on my blog.
Told in short, page-turning chapters and multiple POVs, this timely novel gets to the heart of people's perceptions and how our own prejudices and experiences impact what we see -- or what we think we see. Did Tariq Johnson have a gun when Jack Franklin shot him? Or was it just a Snickers bar? Was he part of the neighborhood gang? Or did he keep his pact with his best friend Tyrell that they would never be a part of that life? The narrative of "how it went down" and who Tariq was changes depending on who's telling the story, so when readers reach the end of the novel, they are left with more questions than answers. Was Tariq good or bad? And just what do those words mean anyway?
While some of the voices felt a tad inconsistent in places, which is understandable given the number of characters who are narrating the story, overall, How It Went Down is an important, discussion-prompting story, and one that will appeal to many teens.
Read my entire review on my blog.
November 25, 2014
This is how I feel when I think about the fact that I spent my hard earned money to purchase this book:
I hated every second of this book. It was incredibly confusing to keep the characters separated in my mind because there were what seemed like one hundred different people, some of which had NOTHING to do with the shooting. Not to mention that the characters were incredibly stupid and didn't have any redeeming qualities. The only character I kind of enjoyed reading about was Jennica, and that's only because she broke up with Noodle and was moving on with her life and growing as a character throughout the story. The other characters just sucked.
I'm also pissed that I still don't even know why exactly Tariq was shot! Everyone and their mom/dad (literally) has their own point of view, but there wasn't even a point of view of the shooter, Jack Franklin. I thought that he would at least have the last word, but nope. Nothing. I literally have not a single idea why he shot Tariq.
I spent the majority of my time reading this and shaking my head. It was painful to read sometimes. My heart ached because of the stupidity. For example, Kimberly seemed like a great person. She was beautiful, yet slightly self conscious. At no time did I feel like Reverend Sloan gave her the go ahead to kiss him. It was weird and totally out of the blue. That whole story line was just absurd. I don't care if the guy was a creep that cheated on his wife, Kimberly was smarter than that. The author made that very clear. So why did she have her make stupid choices that had LITERALLY nothing to do with the plot of the story. In fact, it took away from the story.
Anyway, I hated it and I would have stopped reading it and returned it right away had I not lost my receipt. I'm still angry about that one.
I hated every second of this book. It was incredibly confusing to keep the characters separated in my mind because there were what seemed like one hundred different people, some of which had NOTHING to do with the shooting. Not to mention that the characters were incredibly stupid and didn't have any redeeming qualities. The only character I kind of enjoyed reading about was Jennica, and that's only because she broke up with Noodle and was moving on with her life and growing as a character throughout the story. The other characters just sucked.
I'm also pissed that I still don't even know why exactly Tariq was shot! Everyone and their mom/dad (literally) has their own point of view, but there wasn't even a point of view of the shooter, Jack Franklin. I thought that he would at least have the last word, but nope. Nothing. I literally have not a single idea why he shot Tariq.
I spent the majority of my time reading this and shaking my head. It was painful to read sometimes. My heart ached because of the stupidity. For example, Kimberly seemed like a great person. She was beautiful, yet slightly self conscious. At no time did I feel like Reverend Sloan gave her the go ahead to kiss him. It was weird and totally out of the blue. That whole story line was just absurd. I don't care if the guy was a creep that cheated on his wife, Kimberly was smarter than that. The author made that very clear. So why did she have her make stupid choices that had LITERALLY nothing to do with the plot of the story. In fact, it took away from the story.
Anyway, I hated it and I would have stopped reading it and returned it right away had I not lost my receipt. I'm still angry about that one.
July 13, 2015
How It Went Down is not a book I would typically ever read, and I certainly would have never picked it up in audio format if I hadn't been gifted it through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. While I enjoyed reading the story of the search for T's murder, it definitely wasn't something I would seek out again. For one, it just wasn't my type of book. I'm not a big fan of the gang shooting themed books - no idea why, they just don't appeal to me. Perhaps because I haven't had much experience with them. Second, there were so many POV's is had my head reeling! Ya'll know I can barely follow three points of view, not four or five! Regardless of my like-but-not-love of this book, How It Went Down was a turning point in my love of reading. I didn't realize I that I could love I listening to audiobooks. I thought since my memory was so spazzy, I wouldn't be able to follow along, but that was so not my experience - It was actually the writing I couldn't follow. In fact, I've found a way to enjoy doing my pesky chores. Instead of leaving them to the last-minute, I now spend my time finding excuses to do my chores so I can get more audiobook reading in!
So while I wasn't completely sold on How It Went Down, I'm excited to see where my audiobook journey takes me!
This review was originally posted on One Curvy Blogger
So while I wasn't completely sold on How It Went Down, I'm excited to see where my audiobook journey takes me!
This review was originally posted on One Curvy Blogger
February 22, 2017
People make mistakes. They look at the surface of things and see what they want to.
The details differ from one witness to the next, but the fact remains: Tariq Johnson is shot to death after running an errand for his mother at the neighborhood corner store. Tariq is a young black man; he was shot by a white man named Jack Franklin. The neighborhood is thrust into the national spotlight following Tariq's death, particularly after Jack Franklin is released by police without being charged. As the days pass after the shooting, family members, friends and neighbors have differing and often contradicting accounts as to what happened that day, and all struggle with answering the question, "why did it have to go down like this?". It was a purposeful and wise choice on the part of the author to include so many POVs in this story; no one neighborhood is made up if just one type of person. It is a network of relationships, a web connecting people with backgrounds that may or may not overlap.
This story immediately calls back to the death of Trayvon Martin in particular, but his death is not the only one I thought of while reading How It Went Down. The narrative of black men killed in the streets while their killers face no criminal consequence is heartbreaking in its frequency. A story like this will make some readers uncomfortable, and to that I say "good!". It's a sign of someone being outside of their comfort zone, where change of heart and mind can be forged.
The details differ from one witness to the next, but the fact remains: Tariq Johnson is shot to death after running an errand for his mother at the neighborhood corner store. Tariq is a young black man; he was shot by a white man named Jack Franklin. The neighborhood is thrust into the national spotlight following Tariq's death, particularly after Jack Franklin is released by police without being charged. As the days pass after the shooting, family members, friends and neighbors have differing and often contradicting accounts as to what happened that day, and all struggle with answering the question, "why did it have to go down like this?". It was a purposeful and wise choice on the part of the author to include so many POVs in this story; no one neighborhood is made up if just one type of person. It is a network of relationships, a web connecting people with backgrounds that may or may not overlap.
This story immediately calls back to the death of Trayvon Martin in particular, but his death is not the only one I thought of while reading How It Went Down. The narrative of black men killed in the streets while their killers face no criminal consequence is heartbreaking in its frequency. A story like this will make some readers uncomfortable, and to that I say "good!". It's a sign of someone being outside of their comfort zone, where change of heart and mind can be forged.
May 23, 2015
I selected this novel as the common read for our school's social justice workshop, "Ripped from the Headlines". The events in the novel are all too familiar as we watch similar events play out on news programs and in the press. It was interesting to see the novel focus on the individual stories in a tragedy of racial violence rather than the national story or the story as it is projected to a demographic.
At times in the novel, when I thought I had wrapped up and formulated my own theory of guilt to pass judgement, the author would shine light on another detail of the case or the victim that would make me rethink everything I thought that I knew to be true. It is really a story about the victims of racial violence: the young man who died, his family and neighbors.
The short chapters told from a different point of view were easily accessible and help the novel to move quickly. Although sometimes I felt that the voices blended so I had trouble keeping the characters straight. Each character was well developed and I felt that their interpretation of the events was realistic.
I hope that the students enjoy it as much as I did and that it will help to open discussion about social justice and the too frequent events of racial violence in the media.
At times in the novel, when I thought I had wrapped up and formulated my own theory of guilt to pass judgement, the author would shine light on another detail of the case or the victim that would make me rethink everything I thought that I knew to be true. It is really a story about the victims of racial violence: the young man who died, his family and neighbors.
The short chapters told from a different point of view were easily accessible and help the novel to move quickly. Although sometimes I felt that the voices blended so I had trouble keeping the characters straight. Each character was well developed and I felt that their interpretation of the events was realistic.
I hope that the students enjoy it as much as I did and that it will help to open discussion about social justice and the too frequent events of racial violence in the media.
January 8, 2016
How It Went Down, a 2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, begins with sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson's murder. He was shot to death by a white man named Jack Franklin while walking home from the store. This heart-wrenching story is told with multiple POVs by those in Tariq's community. It is a touching, truthful, and thought-provoking novel by Kekla Magoon and it changed the way we look at the world.
January 10, 2015
One of the most powerful, heartbreaking novels I've ever read. High school English teachers, do not miss this one - it will spark some great & important classroom & book club discussions.
I support independent bookstores - if HOW IT WENT DOWN is on your to-read list, I hope you'll look for it at your local bookstore.
http://www.indiebound.org/book/978080...
I support independent bookstores - if HOW IT WENT DOWN is on your to-read list, I hope you'll look for it at your local bookstore.
http://www.indiebound.org/book/978080...
September 27, 2016
I've never finished an audiobook within hours of starting it, unless it was really short. The narrators brought these characters to life. Full RTC!
September 11, 2017
Wow. I read this book as part of my English inquiry and it really hit me just how cruel the world is. The thing about reading these types of books is that, you know and realise even more that these things may be part of a fictitious story, but they happen to everyday, real people who don't deserve it. This book made me cry multiple times as the injustice of Tariq's death really hit me. It didn't even only affect the family and friends, the whole community felt his death severely. This book has so many good quotes about how no one bats an eye when African American kids are killed. If you enjoyed THUG then you should definitely read this. 5☆
March 3, 2017
My past reviews have been free of spoilers and this one will be no different. With that said, the contents of this book's plot will be vaguely summarized. How It Went Down is a book filled with emotion regarding the outcomes of what happens when a tragic death to a member in a connected community takes place. The plot is told from a variety of perspectives in all of different forms from regular writing to poetry. I certainly found reading a story in this way much smoother and interesting compared to hearing the same voice repeatedly for 300+ pages. I'm curious to see the quality of this author's other literature pieces. Thank you for reading!
August 21, 2020
"“I have to make peace, somehow, with my place in all of this. Peach Street is still my home; I can't keep thinking of it as a war zone, or a protest platform, or a deathbed. Put one foot in front of the other, go to work. Read the news, sprinkle liberally with salt. Ring up. Make change. Smile. Chitchat.”
📚 Series? Yes (?)
📚 Genre? YA Contemporary Fiction.
📚 POV? Multiple with Full Cast Audio
📚 Cliffhanger? No.
⚠ Content Warnings: Murder. Gun use. Racism.
⚠ Book Tags : Justice. Eyewitness. Full cast audiobooks.
The book is about:
How It Went Down is the story of the murder of Tariq Johnson. He was a black kid shot by a white man. This story is told in the eyes of the community through multiple accounts of those who witnessed the crime. For some people, Tariq was part of a gang and that he robbed a store. But there are also people who say otherwise.
What drew me in:
I picked this book up in early May 2020, but the message, a few months after remains the same. Black Lives Matter and their voices need to be heard. Even while I'm on the other side of the world, I am eager to show my support to the Black community & learn more about them. I want to listen to their stories and use this platform to help people become better.
This book was, admittedly, a random pick from my Scribd list. I was looking for more audiobooks to listen to and it was a very good thing to stumble upon this one. My priority only was to get an audiobook with a full cast but this book blew me away.
Characters & connections:
This book was told in 15 to 17 points of view. We have that huge number of characters talking about how the perceive the event and their judgment of Tariq's character. It can be overwhelming at an audiobook set-up, but this book captivated me and demanded my full attention. From the teenagers, to the ladies, to the boy's own family, and to random lurkers in the neighborhood, the reader gets to see how prejudice can cloud the mind and how that alone can change the way a case or an investigation would go.
Everything I liked:
This book represents all the other Black stories that the media keeps buried underground and the world deserves to know about it. I loved how this book was brave enough to discuss everything about it. Not just on racism, this book even shows how your own people can look down on you and leave you to drown in times of trouble. Real, brave, and raw - this book is absolutely heartbreaking.
Overall thoughts:
This book is the perfect required reading material. You may say that this book needs to be censored for YA readers to read, well, you're wrong. They get it in all media they consume, and censoring won't get you anywhere. Books like this deserved to be read - yes, even by young adults, and especially the privileged ones that are too sheltered to give a damn.
☁ THE CRITERIA ☁
🌼 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Character Development:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Thrill/Suspense: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Ending: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
🌼 Unputdownability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
☁FINAL VERDICT: 4.44/5 ☁
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August 19, 2017
This book is so important.
If you loved The Hate You Give and All American Boys, then I'd recommend you get your hands on this one immediately.
If you loved The Hate You Give and All American Boys, then I'd recommend you get your hands on this one immediately.
August 21, 2016
I normally don't give books I've finished anything lower than 2 stars, but come to realize that this probably would've been a DNF had it not been required for school. I have so many issues with the book. first of all, it was basically 300+ pages of nothing. I'm sure the author spent a long time working everything out but it was useless. I thought there was going to be a breakthrough or something but NOTHING. the end had no more developments than the beginning. we find out nothing, each pov tells the same thing all over again. we never know if Tariq had a gun or not, why the fuck jack Franklin shot him. also if your involved in gang business, you usually would have a higher chance of getting hurt. that's common sense. the characters were so fucking frustrating. if there was one last chapter in jack franklins pov or something, I would've been more generous and gave this book 2 stars. honestly, you can just read the back of the book and know what this book was about. worst book I've read 2016, or forever.
December 19, 2018
I feel like there are so many ways to get a story like this wrong, and I think this did it really well. I appreciated that it was told through multiple characters although there were some characters that were better developed/you got to know better than others. I thought it did a very good job showing what it was trying to show, that a person is just a person.
One issue I had was the Reverend and his relationship with another character, I thought it was gross and unnecessary. I just didn't understand the point.
Full Review: https://youtu.be/sQvHzea4Cx4
One issue I had was the Reverend and his relationship with another character, I thought it was gross and unnecessary. I just didn't understand the point.
Full Review: https://youtu.be/sQvHzea4Cx4
November 22, 2018
#mystrangereading How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I wanted to like this book more than I did. I think the topic is so important for today's current climate and that it does tell such a powerful story for how prejudice, perspective and people can make stories and realities so muddled. However, I found the narration style difficult to follow with so much happening so quickly; therefore, I couldn't give it more than 3 stars.
December 23, 2014
This book reminded me of Shattering Glass or The Truth About Alice, because, like them, it was told by different people described an incident and its aftermath. Extremely timely, since it's about a white man shooting a black man and the demand for justice that follows. I liked that it had a few adult POVs as well as teens.
March 31, 2016
Bring the damn tissues. This could go along with All American Boys for a nice three theme Thursday blog post but I'm not sure my heart could take reading another one to round out a trio.
June 17, 2018
It’s scary to go to sleep now.
The sounds in my room are the same.
The look of the dark is the same,
And the glow of my Smurfette nightlight.
But if there are monsters under the bed,
I won’t know about it.
I won’t be safe.
Tariq cast a magic spell to keep them out.
I don’t know how long it will last,
Now that he’s gone.
How it went down is a book about a shooting in American, a young black male, Tariq, is shot by a white man. This book is written in 18 different points of view, all over the community from Tariq’s family being his mum and his sister, to members of the community who were there when it happened as well as those who heard about it and how it effected every one of their lives and the community as a whole.
I can understand why this book hasn’t got as many stars as THUG, the constant change from character to character isn’t for everyone but it honestly gives me perspective, it makes situations like this so much more realistic and heartbreaking. Every single member of a community is impacted by such a thing and I mean yes coming from Australia I always think to myself how lucky I am and how I’m glad that I’ll never have to know the feeling of friends and people I know being shot dead in the street.
I am a big girl-
I can stay home alone.
No, mommy says. I want you close to me.
Too many people now, when we go outside.
I know, mommy says. But it’s just for a little while.
“Let’s give away all the other people” I say “and get Tariq back”.
It’s a good idea, but it makes mommy cry.
Tina, Tariqs little sister’ segments were so heartbreaking and powerful but really showed how children are affected and that they are, just as much, if not more, affected.
Then in the middle of it all there’s a girl, Jennica, part of the main gang (the Kings) who slowly realises it’s not the life that she wants and wishes what it would be like if she was able to be out of the gang and away from her abusive boyfriend
Some of its good - maybe we woulda been friends, Scoot and me. No way to know.
Some of its bad. Knives, death, always living on edge. First Scoot. Now Tariq. There’s going to be another, and another. A great big terrible circle.
Some of its inevitable, maybe. The rest just happens.
How it went down struck a serious chord with me because it shows how communities as a whole are effected but also individually, from old friends, to new friends, family and also just people who know of people or saw the incident. This book covers so much that happens in real life poor societies, guns and gang violence, teen deaths and domestic violence. It completely broke my heart reading it but this book has changed so much about what I see. The gap between rich and poor is so big and it’s so hard to stay afloat. This book needed to be written, just like THUG, personally I feel like it has a much bigger impact based on it going deeper into the community and into the lives of those affected daily. It needs to be read in schools and I really hope some teen, who’s lost, reading it, makes the harder decision when it comes to getting into a gang instead of making that mistake like so many teens do. These situations are so real and happen all across the USA. Something needs to be done, desperately.
I’m not rooting for bad things to happen to people I know. Those things already happened.
Tariq always stood in front of me, tried to protect me. He’s gone now and so is the wall he put up that might have saved me. It’s terrible and sad, but inevitable. Jack Franklin killed more than Tariq that day. He killed me, too. Numbers don’t lie and no matter how I crunch them, I end up where Brick wants me: in a plain red T-shirt and black jeans, with a chain at my belt and a knife in my hand.
This book needs to be read.
The sounds in my room are the same.
The look of the dark is the same,
And the glow of my Smurfette nightlight.
But if there are monsters under the bed,
I won’t know about it.
I won’t be safe.
Tariq cast a magic spell to keep them out.
I don’t know how long it will last,
Now that he’s gone.
How it went down is a book about a shooting in American, a young black male, Tariq, is shot by a white man. This book is written in 18 different points of view, all over the community from Tariq’s family being his mum and his sister, to members of the community who were there when it happened as well as those who heard about it and how it effected every one of their lives and the community as a whole.
I can understand why this book hasn’t got as many stars as THUG, the constant change from character to character isn’t for everyone but it honestly gives me perspective, it makes situations like this so much more realistic and heartbreaking. Every single member of a community is impacted by such a thing and I mean yes coming from Australia I always think to myself how lucky I am and how I’m glad that I’ll never have to know the feeling of friends and people I know being shot dead in the street.
I am a big girl-
I can stay home alone.
No, mommy says. I want you close to me.
Too many people now, when we go outside.
I know, mommy says. But it’s just for a little while.
“Let’s give away all the other people” I say “and get Tariq back”.
It’s a good idea, but it makes mommy cry.
Tina, Tariqs little sister’ segments were so heartbreaking and powerful but really showed how children are affected and that they are, just as much, if not more, affected.
Then in the middle of it all there’s a girl, Jennica, part of the main gang (the Kings) who slowly realises it’s not the life that she wants and wishes what it would be like if she was able to be out of the gang and away from her abusive boyfriend
Some of its good - maybe we woulda been friends, Scoot and me. No way to know.
Some of its bad. Knives, death, always living on edge. First Scoot. Now Tariq. There’s going to be another, and another. A great big terrible circle.
Some of its inevitable, maybe. The rest just happens.
How it went down struck a serious chord with me because it shows how communities as a whole are effected but also individually, from old friends, to new friends, family and also just people who know of people or saw the incident. This book covers so much that happens in real life poor societies, guns and gang violence, teen deaths and domestic violence. It completely broke my heart reading it but this book has changed so much about what I see. The gap between rich and poor is so big and it’s so hard to stay afloat. This book needed to be written, just like THUG, personally I feel like it has a much bigger impact based on it going deeper into the community and into the lives of those affected daily. It needs to be read in schools and I really hope some teen, who’s lost, reading it, makes the harder decision when it comes to getting into a gang instead of making that mistake like so many teens do. These situations are so real and happen all across the USA. Something needs to be done, desperately.
I’m not rooting for bad things to happen to people I know. Those things already happened.
Tariq always stood in front of me, tried to protect me. He’s gone now and so is the wall he put up that might have saved me. It’s terrible and sad, but inevitable. Jack Franklin killed more than Tariq that day. He killed me, too. Numbers don’t lie and no matter how I crunch them, I end up where Brick wants me: in a plain red T-shirt and black jeans, with a chain at my belt and a knife in my hand.
This book needs to be read.
February 10, 2020
I read this for BookishFirst's February Bingo. The only reason it wasn't a 5-star is because I feel like the book is different than what the synopsis would lead you to believe and some characters didn't make sense to me. For that reason, it went down to a 3.5.
Yes, the plot revolves around the shooting of Tariq Johnson, but in order for it to work, the reader is forced into assumptions about what's happening and then told later what you thought wasn't correct (lesson being, no one has all of the information to say, 100% accurately, "how it really went down"). I was unsatisfied with some of the questions that are raised and never answered (e.g. "Was Tariq part of the Kings or no?", "Did Tariq have a weapon or no?", etc.). These are super important to the story, but I personally would have liked more concrete answers than "it depends on who you talk to."
My main gripe is that it's really more about gang culture and characters trying to avoid falling into the gang or trying to escape the gang than it is about them dealing with Tariq's shooter. The shooter only gets a handful of narrative chapters and it is left VERY open-ended in regards to whether or not he ever gets brought to justice for a very clear case of "not self-defense". Instead, we get a character grappling with if he really knew Tariq or not and that causing him to hem and haw about whether or not he wants to join the Kings. We also get a character who's dating one of the Kings who wants out. These two take up a lot of the narrative and change the focus. I thought the way this was left was unrealistic, as well. Gangs are notoriously hard to refuse or get out of. It can be deadly. While Tariq's shooting is the catalyst for these decisions, I feel like the decisions made wouldn't have changed if Tariq had survived the shooting. It just may have taken longer.
Lastly, we get narrative characters from the dads of friends of Tariq. People who don't even know Tariq. So why are they there? They don't really add anything to the story. They misunderstand their kids (or, in one case, are downright nasty because of something that wasn't the child's fault). I don't understand what they're supposed to be bringing to the narrative as characters. They could be written out and the story would be just as effective. I was confused by that.
I liked the book. It just wasn't what I was expecting based on that synopsis.
Popsugar Reading Prompt: A book with a bird on the cover
Yes, the plot revolves around the shooting of Tariq Johnson, but in order for it to work, the reader is forced into assumptions about what's happening and then told later what you thought wasn't correct (lesson being, no one has all of the information to say, 100% accurately, "how it really went down"). I was unsatisfied with some of the questions that are raised and never answered (e.g. "Was Tariq part of the Kings or no?", "Did Tariq have a weapon or no?", etc.). These are super important to the story, but I personally would have liked more concrete answers than "it depends on who you talk to."
My main gripe is that it's really more about gang culture and characters trying to avoid falling into the gang or trying to escape the gang than it is about them dealing with Tariq's shooter. The shooter only gets a handful of narrative chapters and it is left VERY open-ended in regards to whether or not he ever gets brought to justice for a very clear case of "not self-defense". Instead, we get a character grappling with if he really knew Tariq or not and that causing him to hem and haw about whether or not he wants to join the Kings. We also get a character who's dating one of the Kings who wants out. These two take up a lot of the narrative and change the focus. I thought the way this was left was unrealistic, as well. Gangs are notoriously hard to refuse or get out of. It can be deadly. While Tariq's shooting is the catalyst for these decisions, I feel like the decisions made wouldn't have changed if Tariq had survived the shooting. It just may have taken longer.
Lastly, we get narrative characters from the dads of friends of Tariq. People who don't even know Tariq. So why are they there? They don't really add anything to the story. They misunderstand their kids (or, in one case, are downright nasty because of something that wasn't the child's fault). I don't understand what they're supposed to be bringing to the narrative as characters. They could be written out and the story would be just as effective. I was confused by that.
I liked the book. It just wasn't what I was expecting based on that synopsis.
Popsugar Reading Prompt: A book with a bird on the cover
September 23, 2018
Powerful story. I appreciate Magoon’s use of multiple perspectives to illustrate how muddy these events really are.
July 8, 2020
3.75 stars. I read Light It Up earlier this year. After finishing it, I learned it was the second book about the same neighborhood and many of the same characters.
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