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How It Went Down #2
Light It Up
Told in a series of vignettes from multiple viewpoints, Kekla Magoon's Light It Up is a powerful, layered story about injustice and strength—as well as an incredible follow-up to the highly acclaimed novel How It Went Down.
A girl walks home from school. She's tall for her age. She's wearing her winter coat. Her headphones are in. She's hurrying.
She never makes it home.
In the aftermath, while law enforcement tries to justify the response, one fact remains: a police officer has shot and killed an unarmed thirteen-year-old girl. The community is thrown into upheaval, leading to unrest, a growing movement to protest the senseless taking of black lives, and the arrival of white supremacist counter demonstrators.
A girl walks home from school. She's tall for her age. She's wearing her winter coat. Her headphones are in. She's hurrying.
She never makes it home.
In the aftermath, while law enforcement tries to justify the response, one fact remains: a police officer has shot and killed an unarmed thirteen-year-old girl. The community is thrown into upheaval, leading to unrest, a growing movement to protest the senseless taking of black lives, and the arrival of white supremacist counter demonstrators.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published October 22, 2019
55 people are currently reading
3181 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
January 25, 2020
While this book covers some incredibly important topics, it just really was hard for me to connect with it through so many narrators. It almost felt like I was viewing it through a cloudy window instead of being right in the heart of the issue.
July 1, 2019
How It Went Down was a great book, one that Angie Thomas credits with breathing life into The Hate U Give.
Light It Up is one of the most powerful books I’ve read in a long time. Two years after Tariq is shot and killed in How It Went Down, thirteen-year-old Shae is killed by Officer Henderson in the same neighborhood. This is the story of how that neighborhood comes to terms with yet another senseless killing, told through multiple perspectives, all authentic. Those familiar with the companion novel will appreciate hearing from some of the same characters, but Light It Up easily stands alone and will garner many new fans for Magoon. Masterfully done.
Thanks to NetGalley for the electronic ARC.
Light It Up is one of the most powerful books I’ve read in a long time. Two years after Tariq is shot and killed in How It Went Down, thirteen-year-old Shae is killed by Officer Henderson in the same neighborhood. This is the story of how that neighborhood comes to terms with yet another senseless killing, told through multiple perspectives, all authentic. Those familiar with the companion novel will appreciate hearing from some of the same characters, but Light It Up easily stands alone and will garner many new fans for Magoon. Masterfully done.
Thanks to NetGalley for the electronic ARC.
August 23, 2022
Even though the reader knows how this will end, my heart was breaking when it did.
What happens when a white cop shoots and kills a young black teen? Through a cast of many (Zeke & Kimberly, Brick, Jemica, & Melody, DeVante, Robb, & Tyrell and Tina to name a few), we find out what happens in one neighborhood.
I loved that we got to know the characters. Along with their reaction to the shooting, we learn their personal stories, drama, and demons. There's first love, a love triangle, cluelessness, and the hope of a fresh start.
Recommend this one to realistic fiction fans and those looking for more #BlackLivesMatter stories.
What happens when a white cop shoots and kills a young black teen? Through a cast of many (Zeke & Kimberly, Brick, Jemica, & Melody, DeVante, Robb, & Tyrell and Tina to name a few), we find out what happens in one neighborhood.
I loved that we got to know the characters. Along with their reaction to the shooting, we learn their personal stories, drama, and demons. There's first love, a love triangle, cluelessness, and the hope of a fresh start.
Recommend this one to realistic fiction fans and those looking for more #BlackLivesMatter stories.
November 22, 2019
With more perspective than All American Boys, and more nuance than The Hate U Give, Magoon's tale of the shooting of an unarmed Black teen amazed, horrified, and will stay with me for a long time. The vignette style of storytelling made it feel like a quick read (even though the font was teeny tiny). Magoon handles a large cast of characters well, fully fleshing them all out so they feel real enough to @ on Twitter. The second person perspective of The Witness draws the reader into the world in a unique way. Highly recommended. Two thumbs up. A+.
October 21, 2019
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I have been excited to read this one, and it does not disappoint. The *many* perspectives help provide not only a more comprehensive approach to the main events but also offer insight into how these characters relate to each other and to an unexpected point: how Shae's murder is front and center at the start but later becomes background as the characters move forward...or at least move in some other direction.
As with any multi-perspective work, it is much easier to engage with some characters and story lines than with others. I found this to be especially relevant to those characters whose relationships change in pairs or clusters over the course of the novel (the three college kids, the romantic relationships, the father and son). While I enjoyed the various takes and interactions between characters, I also did struggle with how many perspectives are operating here. At the start, I had a hard time keeping track of everyone and think that this might be a challenge for those (like me) who are always reading for both our own enjoyment AND for potentially teachable works. I can imagine that dealing with the number of characters alone could prove a bit of a slog in a classroom setting, especially when not all characters feel fully fleshed out.
My favorite part of this work is how the plot structure matches a move from Shae's murder as the focal point to this being the backdrop against which characters evolve anyway. Shae's murder is - of course - omnipresent, but I really enjoyed watching the characters learn of the event, face it, and move on from it. I appreciate that the style of the work matches this movement in the motif. The characters begin to focus on what's next, how they relate to others, etc. as they gain some level of distance from the murder and subsequent fall out in their community. For me, this choice highlights a critical acknowledgment: that Shae's is not an unusual case but rather a string in an ongoing (and seemingly endless) series of related incidents. At once, this is a tragic message (will this ever end?!) and a moderately hopeful one (because the characters come to terms with life after this event and try to move forward).
This is unsurprisingly not an uplifting read, but it's a well constructed problem novel with a timely and responsibly handled theme and a number of engaging characters.
I have been excited to read this one, and it does not disappoint. The *many* perspectives help provide not only a more comprehensive approach to the main events but also offer insight into how these characters relate to each other and to an unexpected point: how Shae's murder is front and center at the start but later becomes background as the characters move forward...or at least move in some other direction.
As with any multi-perspective work, it is much easier to engage with some characters and story lines than with others. I found this to be especially relevant to those characters whose relationships change in pairs or clusters over the course of the novel (the three college kids, the romantic relationships, the father and son). While I enjoyed the various takes and interactions between characters, I also did struggle with how many perspectives are operating here. At the start, I had a hard time keeping track of everyone and think that this might be a challenge for those (like me) who are always reading for both our own enjoyment AND for potentially teachable works. I can imagine that dealing with the number of characters alone could prove a bit of a slog in a classroom setting, especially when not all characters feel fully fleshed out.
My favorite part of this work is how the plot structure matches a move from Shae's murder as the focal point to this being the backdrop against which characters evolve anyway. Shae's murder is - of course - omnipresent, but I really enjoyed watching the characters learn of the event, face it, and move on from it. I appreciate that the style of the work matches this movement in the motif. The characters begin to focus on what's next, how they relate to others, etc. as they gain some level of distance from the murder and subsequent fall out in their community. For me, this choice highlights a critical acknowledgment: that Shae's is not an unusual case but rather a string in an ongoing (and seemingly endless) series of related incidents. At once, this is a tragic message (will this ever end?!) and a moderately hopeful one (because the characters come to terms with life after this event and try to move forward).
This is unsurprisingly not an uplifting read, but it's a well constructed problem novel with a timely and responsibly handled theme and a number of engaging characters.
November 15, 2019
As much as I liked How It Went Down, the author's previous venture into BlackLivesMatter and social justice territory, I appreciated this one even more. Readers will be able to follow the plot and pick up on the characters and how they relate without having read the previous book, also set in the Underhill neighborhood, but I wouldn't suggest it since the new book gains emotional strength from the writing but also from the effects of the violence and murder that occurred in its predecessor. Two years have passed since Tariq's death, and his best friend, Tyrell, is still haunted by that tragedy and trying to "win" by burying himself in his college courses and texts. But when a thirteen-year-old girl is shot by a police officer as dusk falls, he finds himself dragged into the conflict, accompanying two classmates, one white and one black, to the growing protests in his neighborhood's streets. The author deftly shares multiple perspectives on the death of Shae Tatum, allowing readers to witness the reaction of the white police officer who shot her, various organizers and protesters, and the news media and spin doctors. Although sympathetic white characters are hard to find in this story, the author offers some hope that things may change even while highlighting the many different ways those who are oppressed may express their dissatisfaction, even through art or tagging. There are some interesting points expressed here concerning the civil rights movement and how change was motivated more by economics than a change of heart, and it was hard for this middle-class, privileged white woman to stomach some of the remarks and antics of Robb, the white college boy who has good intentions but is less "woke" than he thinks he is. While some reviewers didn't find some of the romances necessary, they made sense to me since love blossoms under the most stressful conditions. I'm torn about my feelings toward Brick, the leader of a local gang, and his own actions and reactions. I tend to think the author has romanticized the role of men like Brick and their possible involvement in movements toward social justice, but then again, his final ruminations on how much time he has left to live, given his violent lifestyle and association with the gang, tempted me to see him as a martyr for the cause down the road. Nevertheless, there are enough loose ends dangling here to make me hope for another book following these characters. Add this one to a shelf with All-American Boys, Long Way Down, The Hate U Give, and prepare for a lively discussion if you share this with friends. It might not be a perfect book, but it certainly will open some eyes and minds. This author just keeps getting better as she delivers the truth as she sees it.
July 1, 2020
4.5 stars, rounded up.
"There's nothing left to say. The system is broken. The scales are tipped. No balance. All the fault slides on way. We are two black men, carrying the weight of the world. Black men. We are always guilty. Always to blame."
This book was so. good. So good. If you told me Kekla Magoon wrote this book yesterday, got it published overnight, and had it put into my hands today, I would have believed you. It's a 2019 release, and while I get that was just half a year ago, it feels like it was written this summer. The words and the emotions and the story felt like they were ripped straight out of 2020, which makes it even more heartbreaking.
For me, there was really only one thing that really hurt this book. When I picked it up, I didn't realize it was essentially a companion novel to How it Went Down. I remember reading How it Went Down, but it's been YEARS. I didn't even had it marked as read on here. While I don't think you HAVE to read HIWD to understand this one, it would definitely help in some of the background story. I could remember bits and pieces of that book, but not emough to pick up on parts of the story (like with Alabaster Sloan. I vaguely remember him, but I don't remember the details!)
This is great, but to get the full effect, definitely read How It Went Down first.
"There's nothing left to say. The system is broken. The scales are tipped. No balance. All the fault slides on way. We are two black men, carrying the weight of the world. Black men. We are always guilty. Always to blame."
This book was so. good. So good. If you told me Kekla Magoon wrote this book yesterday, got it published overnight, and had it put into my hands today, I would have believed you. It's a 2019 release, and while I get that was just half a year ago, it feels like it was written this summer. The words and the emotions and the story felt like they were ripped straight out of 2020, which makes it even more heartbreaking.
For me, there was really only one thing that really hurt this book. When I picked it up, I didn't realize it was essentially a companion novel to How it Went Down. I remember reading How it Went Down, but it's been YEARS. I didn't even had it marked as read on here. While I don't think you HAVE to read HIWD to understand this one, it would definitely help in some of the background story. I could remember bits and pieces of that book, but not emough to pick up on parts of the story (like with Alabaster Sloan. I vaguely remember him, but I don't remember the details!)
This is great, but to get the full effect, definitely read How It Went Down first.
July 20, 2019
This book was so realistic and challenged me to think much more deeply about racism and police brutality than any other fiction novel. It was raw, well written/authentic. It was a little hard to keep all the perspectives straight at first, but I got used to it very quickly and was amazed by how fleshed out each perspective was. I was worried that this book would feel forced or cliche after The Hate U Give, but it stands apart due to how it is written and how deep the emotions run. Well done - this one will stick with me.
Read
January 15, 2021Dnfing / pausing for now at page 137-
I really like how this is connecting to How it Went Down with the characters and formatting, but I really picked the worst time to start this when I wasn't prepared to read this subject in a book, especially with Black characters that I connect to. Will hopefully get back to reading this sometime soon though and would definitely recommend despite not finishing it yet.
I really like how this is connecting to How it Went Down with the characters and formatting, but I really picked the worst time to start this when I wasn't prepared to read this subject in a book, especially with Black characters that I connect to. Will hopefully get back to reading this sometime soon though and would definitely recommend despite not finishing it yet.
July 20, 2022
This book had more perspective than "All American Boys" yet was more nuanced than "The Hate U Give," portraying the aftermath of an unarmed black girl's death at the hands of a police officer through vignettes that provide dozens of perspectives that move the story along. This book showed me how much I didn't know. It impressed upon me the importance of using my privilege to speak up and to actually put in the work and effort to be actively anti-racist. This book HURT. I knew exactly how it was going to end, but I was still left shocked, angry, and heartbroken. This book is powerful. This book is important. This book is a must-read.
February 13, 2021
I thought that Kekla Magoon's Light It Up was a richly told, heartbreaking story. It is a reflection almost of what happens all too often to Black people and Black children. Read my full review here Link goes live 4/21/2021
June 10, 2020
This was a great follow-up to How It Went Down that still deals with police brutality and how it impacts communities of color. I would recommend everyone read the books in order to get the most out of this one, since it helps to know the character backstories. It goes into new perspectives and personal conflicts with complexity and nuance.
March 14, 2020
I didn't realize this was a sequel at first, and kind of wish I'd re-read How It Went Down before diving in. So glad to see the strength and growth some of the characters showed! And Robb--oh, Robb. You are me, and we are embarrassing.
August 8, 2019
Wow. That was a powerful book. I picked up this book because of the summary--13 year old girl, unarmed, is shot in the back by a police officer for essentially jogging while black. It's implied that she had her earbuds in as she did her usual routine of jogging and didn't hear the officer when he shot her. When I first started the book, the style of it kind of threw me because the story moved along from different perspectives and I was not yet familiar with the characters. But it didn't take me long to sort them out and it really helped tell the story, especially when discussions of racism, white privilege, and so on where happening between different characters. Many of the discussions covered in this book are reminiscent of real-life conversations I've had with people, both on and off social media. These are important conversations to have and I think this book is an important book to read, especially if you're not a POC, but you're trying to better understand what POC go through every day. On a related note, this is a follow-up of a previous book, How it Went Down, which covers the shooting of Tariq, who is mentioned several times in this book, but I did not know this when I began this story, and while reading the first book might add another layer of depth to this book, this story stands alone very well.
Special thanks to NetGalley, Kekla Magoon, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Special thanks to NetGalley, Kekla Magoon, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 28, 2021
It is hard not to make comparisons to Angie Thomas / THUG with this book, and it is worth noting that Kekla Magoon broached BLM a few years before THUG. So anyone who liked THUG should be reading Kekla Magoon, too! She is fantastic. How It Went Down was very obviously a retelling of Trayvon Martin’s murder; Light It Up sadly feels like a horrid mashup of many killings of Black Americans. It was published in 2019, but reading it less than a year after George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent protests was haunting, moreso because the book’s events felt so chillingly universal. Just like in her previous book, she is a mistress of voice and crafting different voices unique to several points of view. This is also a terrific fictional “collection” of genres— social media posts, character narratives, news talk shows that allowed for dialogue and smackdowns about systemic racism, with a dose of a faux woke, white, performative ally. The portrayal of police was human and sympathetic, and there was a tension between 2 styles of Black leadership reminiscent of Malcolm and MLK, and the lack of closure in Tyrell’s story killed me. Your mileage may vary in its portrayal of children with disabilities.
December 29, 2020
This was very good. I loved the use of multiple POVs and the different viewpoints on violence against the Black community that create a constant thread of thought-provoking insights. I liked how the voices feel so authentic (more so with an absolutely stellar audiobook with a full voice cast). I felt irate for the family of Shay and wanted to be there protesting with the characters. This book reminded me why I do the work I do and made me feel even more driven to make a difference in our criminal justice system.
June 30, 2019
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am also honored to have a signed copy by the author that I received at the ALA conference.
This book revolves around the circumstances of a thirteen year old black girl's death at the hands of a white police officer. What happened? Who saw it? What can the the black community do to stop this? Will the police officer get in trouble for killing the girl? Why or why not?
Light It Up contains multiple points of view, and almost everyone is connected to the case in some way. The members of the black community of Underhill know that they need to rise up and be heard, or there will be never be justice for Shae (the girl who is killed) or so many other innocent black lives that are taken. Through publications, protests, art, conversation, and social media they make their voices heard.
Part of why I loved this book is that I was constantly reminded that I always need to keep checking my own white privilege. There are white characters in the book that mean well or believe that hearing out "both sides" is the right way to go about things even though they might "not agree" with the white supremacist side. Microagressions are everywhere, and people like me have grown up being complicit in it. Light It Up reminds us that we will never be in the same situation people of color are and that we need to listen to them if we ever want to be able to help. That is part of the reason why I read books like this. To learn. But enough about white people. This story is actually about the black community rising up against white supremacy and they are amazing.
They are talented and intelligent and all of the characters come from different circumstances. There are interviews with professors, leaders of protests, and points of view of characters that experience the streets on a daily basis. There is a variety there, and that is so, so important.
And on another note, I loved *how* this book was written. I loved that there were several points of view. I understand that for some it may be hard to keep the points of view straight, but I found it easy once I got into the book. And I highly recommend this book to everyone.
This review is a bit messy, but that's how I feel when I love a book so much!
Thank you again to Netgalley and the publisher, and thank you to Kekla Magoon for being so talented.
This book revolves around the circumstances of a thirteen year old black girl's death at the hands of a white police officer. What happened? Who saw it? What can the the black community do to stop this? Will the police officer get in trouble for killing the girl? Why or why not?
Light It Up contains multiple points of view, and almost everyone is connected to the case in some way. The members of the black community of Underhill know that they need to rise up and be heard, or there will be never be justice for Shae (the girl who is killed) or so many other innocent black lives that are taken. Through publications, protests, art, conversation, and social media they make their voices heard.
Part of why I loved this book is that I was constantly reminded that I always need to keep checking my own white privilege. There are white characters in the book that mean well or believe that hearing out "both sides" is the right way to go about things even though they might "not agree" with the white supremacist side. Microagressions are everywhere, and people like me have grown up being complicit in it. Light It Up reminds us that we will never be in the same situation people of color are and that we need to listen to them if we ever want to be able to help. That is part of the reason why I read books like this. To learn. But enough about white people. This story is actually about the black community rising up against white supremacy and they are amazing.
They are talented and intelligent and all of the characters come from different circumstances. There are interviews with professors, leaders of protests, and points of view of characters that experience the streets on a daily basis. There is a variety there, and that is so, so important.
And on another note, I loved *how* this book was written. I loved that there were several points of view. I understand that for some it may be hard to keep the points of view straight, but I found it easy once I got into the book. And I highly recommend this book to everyone.
This review is a bit messy, but that's how I feel when I love a book so much!
Thank you again to Netgalley and the publisher, and thank you to Kekla Magoon for being so talented.
July 9, 2020
I received an ARC of this book from BookCon in 2019, and I hope this review will help give Light It Up the recognition it deserves! Content warning that the book contains descriptions of police brutality and anti-Black racial slurs.
This is actually a follow-up to an earlier work by Magoon (How It Went Down), but I didn't even know that fact until after I'd finished it, so it definitely reads as a standalone. The book broken up into multiple, often recurring, perspectives from people in the community where 13-year-old Shae was murdered by a police officer while walking home from school. The viewpoints are varied and serve as a testament to how her killing has rocked the community; community organizers, a riot cop, college students, a young street artist, the head of a local gang, and even the police officer's daughter are all given a voice and have a perspective to share. (Warning that even if you are a well-meaning white ally, you will see yourself in Rob, and you will not like what you see.)
The most powerful part of the novel is how many parallels there are to the nationwide response to George Floyd's murder in May. The entire time I was reading this book, I was thinking about how I've read these tweets, I've had these exact arguments about "riots" on Facebook, I've seen this use of tear gas on peaceful protesters, and I've felt this same collective outpouring of pain and need for change. And though the book was published in 2019 (and was written even earlier than that), that doesn't mean Magoon is a psychic. It means Black communities have been experiencing this for a long time, and we haven't been listening.
This is actually a follow-up to an earlier work by Magoon (How It Went Down), but I didn't even know that fact until after I'd finished it, so it definitely reads as a standalone. The book broken up into multiple, often recurring, perspectives from people in the community where 13-year-old Shae was murdered by a police officer while walking home from school. The viewpoints are varied and serve as a testament to how her killing has rocked the community; community organizers, a riot cop, college students, a young street artist, the head of a local gang, and even the police officer's daughter are all given a voice and have a perspective to share. (Warning that even if you are a well-meaning white ally, you will see yourself in Rob, and you will not like what you see.)
The most powerful part of the novel is how many parallels there are to the nationwide response to George Floyd's murder in May. The entire time I was reading this book, I was thinking about how I've read these tweets, I've had these exact arguments about "riots" on Facebook, I've seen this use of tear gas on peaceful protesters, and I've felt this same collective outpouring of pain and need for change. And though the book was published in 2019 (and was written even earlier than that), that doesn't mean Magoon is a psychic. It means Black communities have been experiencing this for a long time, and we haven't been listening.
June 18, 2020
"Yeah. They're cool with domestic terrorism and long as it's ultra-wack white Christian's doing the terrorizing." 115
"You want to call it "riots" because you want the focus to be on so-called black violence and so-called black criminality. You want to do anything possible to justify the reality of police officers acting with lethal force on a community." 13
"You want to say it's okay for a police officer to respond with knee-jerk lethal anger at the mere idea of a threat against his person, and at the same time you want to say it's wrong for a community to rise up in peaceful anger in response to repeated systematic abuses at the hands of the power structure." 13
We are black men in America. We are trapped. We're stuck in this car, in this flying metal box, a restricted space where we have no control.
We are at the mercy of yet another white guy who thinks he gets it, but he doesn't. 274
When I started reading this book, I didn't realize it was a sort of sequel to How It Went Down. But when they mentioned Tariq Johnson, something clicked.
In Light It Up, a 13 year old girl has been shot and killed by a police officer. She was a hefty 13 year old, and the officer mistook her for a man. There was a witness, a Black man, who was terrified to tell the truth of what he saw. The novel follows the after effects of her death through varying viewpoints, including Twitter feeds and news reports.
The reader gets into the mind of the street, Peach Street, and uses second-person when writing as the witness. This could be useful during writing exercises.
This is a powerful novel that should be added to Black Lives Matter reading lists. Through SCORE, a nonprofit organization, protests are planned. The daughter of the officer that shot the young girl is given a voice. She's young and doesn't understand what is happening. The wife, however, defends her husbands actions. I would have liked a peek into the wife's brain, in all honesty. The younger sister of Tariq is also given a voice in the form of poetry. Tyrell, Tariq's best friend, is just trying to keep his head down at college. What happens to him at the end is horrible and disgusting.
And then there's Robb. Robb is the white guy that insists he understands and wants to supports Black lives, but he really doesn't understand anything. This is more than evident during the car ride to Underhill. He has no regard for Tyrell's feelings throughout the novel. He learns a lesson (?) in the end, but the damage has been done.
It was a fantastic read. One of the most interesting things to me was learning the background of No Justice, No Peace and how laws had to change to end segregation so businesses could survive. This is something I hadn't thought of before.
"You want to call it "riots" because you want the focus to be on so-called black violence and so-called black criminality. You want to do anything possible to justify the reality of police officers acting with lethal force on a community." 13
"You want to say it's okay for a police officer to respond with knee-jerk lethal anger at the mere idea of a threat against his person, and at the same time you want to say it's wrong for a community to rise up in peaceful anger in response to repeated systematic abuses at the hands of the power structure." 13
We are black men in America. We are trapped. We're stuck in this car, in this flying metal box, a restricted space where we have no control.
We are at the mercy of yet another white guy who thinks he gets it, but he doesn't. 274
When I started reading this book, I didn't realize it was a sort of sequel to How It Went Down. But when they mentioned Tariq Johnson, something clicked.
In Light It Up, a 13 year old girl has been shot and killed by a police officer. She was a hefty 13 year old, and the officer mistook her for a man. There was a witness, a Black man, who was terrified to tell the truth of what he saw. The novel follows the after effects of her death through varying viewpoints, including Twitter feeds and news reports.
The reader gets into the mind of the street, Peach Street, and uses second-person when writing as the witness. This could be useful during writing exercises.
This is a powerful novel that should be added to Black Lives Matter reading lists. Through SCORE, a nonprofit organization, protests are planned. The daughter of the officer that shot the young girl is given a voice. She's young and doesn't understand what is happening. The wife, however, defends her husbands actions. I would have liked a peek into the wife's brain, in all honesty. The younger sister of Tariq is also given a voice in the form of poetry. Tyrell, Tariq's best friend, is just trying to keep his head down at college. What happens to him at the end is horrible and disgusting.
And then there's Robb. Robb is the white guy that insists he understands and wants to supports Black lives, but he really doesn't understand anything. This is more than evident during the car ride to Underhill. He has no regard for Tyrell's feelings throughout the novel. He learns a lesson (?) in the end, but the damage has been done.
It was a fantastic read. One of the most interesting things to me was learning the background of No Justice, No Peace and how laws had to change to end segregation so businesses could survive. This is something I hadn't thought of before.
March 25, 2020
The delivery of the story with the multiple voices over several days paces the book in a way that is riveting, intense, realistic, and personal. This is book still probably can't top my love of The Rock and the River, but in terms of it's complexity and emotional depth, it's pretty darn close.
A white copy shoots a thirteen year old black girl as she heads home from tutoring. She had earbuds in and was running basically because it was unsafe for her to be outside. He instantly understands the gravity of the situation and it escalates from there. There's a "witness", then the community, then social media, Shae's dad goes down to the crime scene and is almost killed himself by cops who are not willing to allow a father to grieve. There's the daughter of the cop, a kid who uses graffiti to protest, and more to create a landscape portrait of the critical conversations for Black Lives Matter which interrupts the story too, with interviews and news reports.
Truly the format is its biggest strength yet the characters are vivid and powerful. It explores so much.
A white copy shoots a thirteen year old black girl as she heads home from tutoring. She had earbuds in and was running basically because it was unsafe for her to be outside. He instantly understands the gravity of the situation and it escalates from there. There's a "witness", then the community, then social media, Shae's dad goes down to the crime scene and is almost killed himself by cops who are not willing to allow a father to grieve. There's the daughter of the cop, a kid who uses graffiti to protest, and more to create a landscape portrait of the critical conversations for Black Lives Matter which interrupts the story too, with interviews and news reports.
Truly the format is its biggest strength yet the characters are vivid and powerful. It explores so much.
November 8, 2019
A black girl walking home from school in a big puffy coat doesn't stop for an officer when he tells her to, she's got headphones in and doesn't hear. The officer makes a snap decision and shoots installing killing the thirteen year old girl. This book follows what happens after different voices from around the community, twitter threads, and news reports all come together to give a complete view of the impact of a snap decision made by a white cop.
This book gave me full body chills. The fact that you all sorts of different people in the community makes the story well rounded and gives such a powerful image of the community. I also love the mixed media of the tweets and news segments. This would be a great book for anyone who likes The Hate U Give or just wants a book that deals with the issues of race we're facing.
This book gave me full body chills. The fact that you all sorts of different people in the community makes the story well rounded and gives such a powerful image of the community. I also love the mixed media of the tweets and news segments. This would be a great book for anyone who likes The Hate U Give or just wants a book that deals with the issues of race we're facing.
September 7, 2020
This picks up in the same neighborhood with many of the same narrators as How It Went Down, but it's not exactly a sequel, as each could be read as a standalone. It covers a wide range of perspectives around the aftermath of a police officer killing an unarmed black child, and a lot of it is tough to read, but so realistic. This would be an amazing teaching tool for teaching current events and different perspectives to older teens.
January 10, 2020
There was some continuity that affected my understanding of the relationships between characters, but it was a great book. It was by no means a very happy book, but it was important. Everyone's perspectives surrounding police brutality were represented, in my perspective. It also has very powerful arguments against racial bias in the news transcript sections.
February 26, 2020
This book was such a powerful read!!!! I loved the plot and the plot structure. This book was so realistic, and felt that many young adults should read this book. This book had great narrative with many viewpoints told throughout the novel. Since there were many characters, I felt the character development could have been better.
January 15, 2024
The message in this book was so good and powerful! The execution... wasn't really for me. I get confused easily with pov changes, and this one has about a gazillion. The constant pov changes made my head spin a little, but I did manage to keep myself glued to the story which tells me that the book is really well written. I can definitely recommend this.
September 30, 2019
Powerful; painful. Probably more New Adult than Young Adult because of age of main characters and their actions. Maybe a little didactic at times but sometimes we need to be preached to in order to be woken up. Heard Keckla Magoon speak when she was first starting out and I am glad to see her rise to an author of importance.
July 10, 2020
I want to sit with this a little while before I write a full review...but I’ll say this: Hands down the most heart-wrenchingly, beautifully crafted and raw depiction of what it means to be affected by an act of Police Brutality. I’ll leave it at this for now, #BlackLivesMatter
July 11, 2020
I can’t believe she wrote this before George Floyd. I want to recommend it as a stand alone, but it makes so much more sense if you’ve read How It Went Down. It’s hard to follow so many different viewpoints, but it pays off to see it from so many different angles.
April 14, 2022
I honestly don't know what to say. The fact that this is a reality for some people in the XXI century blows my mind, and yet - I shouldn't really be surprised, should I. One look around at what we've made... This world we've created. Huh. People are so disappointing. But sooner or later, something's gotta give. I'm ready for a change.
Poor Tyrell, ohmygosh :(
Poor Tyrell, ohmygosh :(
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