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All You Have to Do
Powerful, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, this debut YA novel by author Autumn Allen is a gripping look at what it takes (and takes and takes) for two Black students to succeed in prestigious academic institutions in America.
In ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, two Black young men attend prestigious schools nearly thirty years apart, and yet both navigate similar forms of insidious racism.
In April 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, Kevin joins a protest that shuts down his Ivy League campus…
In September 1995, amidst controversy over the Million Man March, Gibran challenges the “See No Color” hypocrisy of his prestigious New England prep school…
As the two students, whose lives overlap in powerful ways, risk losing the opportunities their parents worked hard to provide, they move closer to discovering who they want to be instead of accepting as fact who society and family tell them they are.
In ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, two Black young men attend prestigious schools nearly thirty years apart, and yet both navigate similar forms of insidious racism.
In April 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, Kevin joins a protest that shuts down his Ivy League campus…
In September 1995, amidst controversy over the Million Man March, Gibran challenges the “See No Color” hypocrisy of his prestigious New England prep school…
As the two students, whose lives overlap in powerful ways, risk losing the opportunities their parents worked hard to provide, they move closer to discovering who they want to be instead of accepting as fact who society and family tell them they are.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 29, 2023
27 people are currently reading
6922 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
July 19, 2023
This was a very powerful book and I felt privileged to read it and gain some limited insight into different perspective. I loved the two timelines and perspectives and how they tied together. The look at two similar men fighting sadly similar fights in two different ways was really powerful to read. I loved both characters and was rooting for them, and I definitely loved the way things tied together and ended. In 1968 Kevin is protesting in the wake of Martin Luther King’s assassination at his Ivy League college. Meanwhile in 1995 in the wake of outrage about the Million Man March Gibran is challenging his fancy prep school’s racist color blind attitudes and advocating for himself and his fellow Black students. Both boys had clear and wonderful voices and were a pleasure to read. I definitely recommend this book and will be looking for more books by this author.
August 17, 2024
Review, 6/24/24
I read this just a few weeks after encampment at my own university. Our encampment was in honor of Gaza, demanding our university discloses ties with Israel and war-profiteering industries, divests from them, and denounces the ongoing genocide. Little did I know that one of the two POVs in this book follows a Black young man participating in the Columbia encampment in April 1968 as part of the Civil Rights movement.
Reading about this encampment experience was healing to me--it felt like a warm hug. Bc even though the encampment ended with brutal police violence/suppression and not all their demands were immediately met, they were successful in more ways in the long term--the message was about keeping the movement alive through the generations. It was never meant to be a short-term struggle, but a long-term one that requires long-lasting energy and sustainability, a community that picks up whenever some of us are tired or unable to fight anymore.
But this is all just one POV. The other, somewhat parallel POV is of the succeeding generation, following a young man attending a private high school in Massachusetts.
Reading about this story was healing for me in so many ways. What's crazy is that this book was published in August 2023, before the current genocide in Gaza even started, and well before the Gaza encampments across US campuses back in April 2024. And yet the similarities and parallels between the 1968 encampments as depicted in this novel and today are uncanny. I love making and reading lists, so I will list the similarities.
- Academia exploits minority students, using them as posters for diversity but doing nothing genuine to serve or empower them. This is true in 1960s Columbia, when Kevin realized that administrators (particularly a Black man) carefully recruited Black students they deemed worthy of admission and then wrote files labelling most of them as "unlikely to succeed." Gibran also experienced this in the other POV in his private school in the 1990s--although its principal was a Black man, it turns out he was there just to continue serving the system. Similarly, my institution and many others have popularized "DEI" (diversity, equity, and inclusion) - offices and initiatives that are largely led by minority staff but really don't serve minorities. The countless emails ignored since October 2023 raising concerns about anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment is proof.
- Academia is imperialist, both today and in the 1960s. They expand and gentrify surrounding neighborhoods. push the locals out and then pretend to give back and serve them by letting them into very limited parts of campus or having tutoring programs just to make themselves look better--this was about Columbia in the 60s but still applies to many universities today, it was honestly as if I was reading about contemporary Northeastern University with Roxbury, not just 1960s Columbia with Harlem
- In the 60s with Kevin, 90s with Gibran, and 2020s today, we see that those in power want to set the rules for how minority groups protest - "protest, but politely, according to our rules" - defeating the whole point of protests. They'll let us protest, so long as we don't challenge their system. lol.
- young people have so much energy and can be super smart in challenging the system and using anarchy to get change done - I've seen this energy among students organizing encampments and it is super powerful
- before the encampments started, both in 60s Columbia and today in many universities, students petitioned university leadership with their demands. The book specifically noted that Columbia students in the 60s demanded an end to the partnership with the Institute for Defense Analysis that funded military research. In both cases, presidents/leadership ignored the petitions.
- 1968 Columbia encampment renamed Hamilton Hall to Malcolm X Liberation College - similarly, in the 2024 encampment, students renamed that very same hall to Hind's Hall, in honor of the 5 year old who was stuck in a van for hours with her murdered family members before the IOF sniped her to death too.
- Police surrounded the encampments but backed off when community members came and outnumbered them. Then proceeded to arrest students at night when numbers decreased.
- University administrators claimed "outside agitators" to discredit their students' voices
- The Black student protesters at Columbia made sure to inform vulnerable members of the risks--a strategy that I saw adopted at many encampments this year too
- Black student protesters at Columbia made sure not to pin leadership or their protest's representation on any 1-2 individuals and instead had multiple people go out to talk to the media. This somewhat prevents the media from being distracted by the "leader" and instead focused on the message, and also protects people from being targeted as leaders. This was also a strategy adopted at the encampment I was a part of.
- The police who arrested student protesters were often people of color, both in 1968 and 2024. And the same chants were yelled at them as they took students away in paddywagons- "pigs off campus" and "cops must go."
It just shows how much our movements our intertwined, and how much the Gaza encampments of this year owe to the knowledge and experience of the Black activists of the 60s. And how important it is that we continue to work together and learn from their expertise.
Beyond the powerful political/activist message this book has, I just love the honest and wholesome depiction of beautiful Black families, joy, and love! The kind, gentle Black men who are responsible, intelligent, love to read, love to cook, take care of the women and children in their lives, and have healthy concepts of masculinity and brotherhood. The way Malcolm X inspired so many of them--the ways many of them converted to Islam and the role that played in shaping individual and collective journeys.
Written by a Black Muslim author, this book needs to be much more popular on Muslim bookstagram than it currently is. I truly savored every page of this book, and I am so blessed to have happened to learn about it at exactly the right time I needed it. I will definitely be reading anything Autumn Allen writes in the future!
Sorry for the info dump, I will try to comb through this so that it's more coherent, but I just needed to get this all out for now! This book means so much to me!!!
I read this just a few weeks after encampment at my own university. Our encampment was in honor of Gaza, demanding our university discloses ties with Israel and war-profiteering industries, divests from them, and denounces the ongoing genocide. Little did I know that one of the two POVs in this book follows a Black young man participating in the Columbia encampment in April 1968 as part of the Civil Rights movement.
Reading about this encampment experience was healing to me--it felt like a warm hug. Bc even though the encampment ended with brutal police violence/suppression and not all their demands were immediately met, they were successful in more ways in the long term--the message was about keeping the movement alive through the generations. It was never meant to be a short-term struggle, but a long-term one that requires long-lasting energy and sustainability, a community that picks up whenever some of us are tired or unable to fight anymore.
But this is all just one POV. The other, somewhat parallel POV is of the succeeding generation, following a young man attending a private high school in Massachusetts.
Reading about this story was healing for me in so many ways. What's crazy is that this book was published in August 2023, before the current genocide in Gaza even started, and well before the Gaza encampments across US campuses back in April 2024. And yet the similarities and parallels between the 1968 encampments as depicted in this novel and today are uncanny. I love making and reading lists, so I will list the similarities.
- Academia exploits minority students, using them as posters for diversity but doing nothing genuine to serve or empower them. This is true in 1960s Columbia, when Kevin realized that administrators (particularly a Black man) carefully recruited Black students they deemed worthy of admission and then wrote files labelling most of them as "unlikely to succeed." Gibran also experienced this in the other POV in his private school in the 1990s--although its principal was a Black man, it turns out he was there just to continue serving the system. Similarly, my institution and many others have popularized "DEI" (diversity, equity, and inclusion) - offices and initiatives that are largely led by minority staff but really don't serve minorities. The countless emails ignored since October 2023 raising concerns about anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment is proof.
- Academia is imperialist, both today and in the 1960s. They expand and gentrify surrounding neighborhoods. push the locals out and then pretend to give back and serve them by letting them into very limited parts of campus or having tutoring programs just to make themselves look better--this was about Columbia in the 60s but still applies to many universities today, it was honestly as if I was reading about contemporary Northeastern University with Roxbury, not just 1960s Columbia with Harlem
- In the 60s with Kevin, 90s with Gibran, and 2020s today, we see that those in power want to set the rules for how minority groups protest - "protest, but politely, according to our rules" - defeating the whole point of protests. They'll let us protest, so long as we don't challenge their system. lol.
- young people have so much energy and can be super smart in challenging the system and using anarchy to get change done - I've seen this energy among students organizing encampments and it is super powerful
- before the encampments started, both in 60s Columbia and today in many universities, students petitioned university leadership with their demands. The book specifically noted that Columbia students in the 60s demanded an end to the partnership with the Institute for Defense Analysis that funded military research. In both cases, presidents/leadership ignored the petitions.
- 1968 Columbia encampment renamed Hamilton Hall to Malcolm X Liberation College - similarly, in the 2024 encampment, students renamed that very same hall to Hind's Hall, in honor of the 5 year old who was stuck in a van for hours with her murdered family members before the IOF sniped her to death too.
- Police surrounded the encampments but backed off when community members came and outnumbered them. Then proceeded to arrest students at night when numbers decreased.
- University administrators claimed "outside agitators" to discredit their students' voices
- The Black student protesters at Columbia made sure to inform vulnerable members of the risks--a strategy that I saw adopted at many encampments this year too
- Black student protesters at Columbia made sure not to pin leadership or their protest's representation on any 1-2 individuals and instead had multiple people go out to talk to the media. This somewhat prevents the media from being distracted by the "leader" and instead focused on the message, and also protects people from being targeted as leaders. This was also a strategy adopted at the encampment I was a part of.
- The police who arrested student protesters were often people of color, both in 1968 and 2024. And the same chants were yelled at them as they took students away in paddywagons- "pigs off campus" and "cops must go."
It just shows how much our movements our intertwined, and how much the Gaza encampments of this year owe to the knowledge and experience of the Black activists of the 60s. And how important it is that we continue to work together and learn from their expertise.
Beyond the powerful political/activist message this book has, I just love the honest and wholesome depiction of beautiful Black families, joy, and love! The kind, gentle Black men who are responsible, intelligent, love to read, love to cook, take care of the women and children in their lives, and have healthy concepts of masculinity and brotherhood. The way Malcolm X inspired so many of them--the ways many of them converted to Islam and the role that played in shaping individual and collective journeys.
Written by a Black Muslim author, this book needs to be much more popular on Muslim bookstagram than it currently is. I truly savored every page of this book, and I am so blessed to have happened to learn about it at exactly the right time I needed it. I will definitely be reading anything Autumn Allen writes in the future!
Sorry for the info dump, I will try to comb through this so that it's more coherent, but I just needed to get this all out for now! This book means so much to me!!!
August 28, 2024
I was fascinated by the two timelines this book has. In one timeline it’s 1995 and Gibran is gathering his friends and classmates to go to the Million Man March. In the other timeline it’s 1968 and Kevin is fighting for equal rights after MLK‘s assassination. The stories are 35 years apart yet both men, related by blood, are challenging the same beliefs to change how society defines them.
This was a difficult book to read because there was a lot of historic events mentioned that I had to further educate myself on. For every chapter I read, there was an equal or longer amount of time spent googling and researching so that I could fully understand what each reference’s significance and impact on our history was. It was all worth it because in addition to reading a great story, I also learned so much!
I love the cover art on this book. The black-and-white side of the cover depicts the 1968 story while the color side of the book depicts the 1995 story. The characters in this book are relatable and lovable, and it’s a great read for anyone wanting to learn more about the truth of America’s history.
This was a difficult book to read because there was a lot of historic events mentioned that I had to further educate myself on. For every chapter I read, there was an equal or longer amount of time spent googling and researching so that I could fully understand what each reference’s significance and impact on our history was. It was all worth it because in addition to reading a great story, I also learned so much!
I love the cover art on this book. The black-and-white side of the cover depicts the 1968 story while the color side of the book depicts the 1995 story. The characters in this book are relatable and lovable, and it’s a great read for anyone wanting to learn more about the truth of America’s history.
June 28, 2023
Saying, "powerful and thought-provoking" still does not do this book justice. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO will have you in tears. This was one of the best books have read this year.
This debut follows two Black teens living in different time periods experiencing similar injustices. Kevin's POV is in the 1960s whereas Gibran's is in the 1990s. Both past and present are expertly woven together. The fictional characters are set against historical events and add layers to the story.
The author's writing is stellar. The pacing is good and the characters are written beautifully.
I cannot put into words how good this book was (I'm trying!). I believe books like this should be in every classroom (although the opposite is happening in some states). We need books like this and I hope we see more of them in the future. I also look forward to seeing what else the author has in store.
This debut follows two Black teens living in different time periods experiencing similar injustices. Kevin's POV is in the 1960s whereas Gibran's is in the 1990s. Both past and present are expertly woven together. The fictional characters are set against historical events and add layers to the story.
The author's writing is stellar. The pacing is good and the characters are written beautifully.
I cannot put into words how good this book was (I'm trying!). I believe books like this should be in every classroom (although the opposite is happening in some states). We need books like this and I hope we see more of them in the future. I also look forward to seeing what else the author has in store.
July 1, 2023
*I received this arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I was really looking forward to this story. It is such a profound story especially given the current climate we live in. It centers around the two black men coming of age in two very different periods. Gibran who is outnumbered by a mile his white peers. Then his Uncle Kevin who came of age during the height of the civil rights era. The story of the two men was powerful and it gave me a sense of how they felt as African American men.
Although I did struggle to understand how they felt daily living their lives in the midst of such major cultural struggles. Especially Kevin living through the the civil rights era. Including the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and his protest at the university of Columbia. Gibran of the two was the one I didn’t care for solely because of his attitude towards his mother. He was way too harsh with her without wanting to listen to what her thoughts were.
The fact that he didn’t warn her nor seek her advice with his open letter or “manifesto” to the other students and staff at his prep school. I thought it was very unkind. I also felt like the two didn’t have a resolution. I did enjoy this one for the most part.
I was really looking forward to this story. It is such a profound story especially given the current climate we live in. It centers around the two black men coming of age in two very different periods. Gibran who is outnumbered by a mile his white peers. Then his Uncle Kevin who came of age during the height of the civil rights era. The story of the two men was powerful and it gave me a sense of how they felt as African American men.
Although I did struggle to understand how they felt daily living their lives in the midst of such major cultural struggles. Especially Kevin living through the the civil rights era. Including the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and his protest at the university of Columbia. Gibran of the two was the one I didn’t care for solely because of his attitude towards his mother. He was way too harsh with her without wanting to listen to what her thoughts were.
The fact that he didn’t warn her nor seek her advice with his open letter or “manifesto” to the other students and staff at his prep school. I thought it was very unkind. I also felt like the two didn’t have a resolution. I did enjoy this one for the most part.
February 19, 2024
This book made me mad. This is a book that needs to be read in all schools junior high to college. These are the books that yt folks are trying to ban. They dont want young ppl to get hipped to what they're doing and work together.
September 2, 2023
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
While I appreciate the subject matter and the themes that are brought up throughout the novel, I have to be honest and admit that I didn't really enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I think it might have to do with the fact that I didn't feel a connection with Kevin or Gibran. I felt like they were too similar at times and if it wasn't for the different time periods, I would be confused as to which character is which. Besides that, I also was a bit more invested in Kevin's story than Gibran. Learning about the background history of the Columbia protests and seeing Kevin partake in the protests was interesting to me and I think those were the best chapters of the novel.
At times, I got annoyed with both Kevin and Gibran because Kevin had a really holier than thou attitude and Gibran was really bratty. It made reading the book frustrating at times. I did adore the healthy mother-son relationship that Dawn and Gibran had.
The ending had me feeling very unsatisfied because after a lot of built up Gibran's closing arc of the novel was just so meh... After constantly being mistreated he decides to leave Lakeside and his mom is okay with it. The school sucks and the principal has no backbone but a large portion of the novel was how Gibran's mom is pushing Gibran to go to the best schools so that he can succeed in life. Gibran leaving Lakeside was very anti-climatic and rushed. Gibran's story arc as a whole didn't feel that rewarding to me. I honestly think that the book could possibly be stronger if it was about both Dawn and Kevin. Dawn was my favorite character in the novel and was possibly one of the best things about it. I wished we got the chance to see more of her point of view.
Overall, I learned a lot while reading this and seeing the things that Kevin/Gibran went through throughout the novel still happen to this day is beyond sad and disheartening but I did like the inspiring message at the end of the novel. I just wished that the character arcs had a better resolution.
While I appreciate the subject matter and the themes that are brought up throughout the novel, I have to be honest and admit that I didn't really enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I think it might have to do with the fact that I didn't feel a connection with Kevin or Gibran. I felt like they were too similar at times and if it wasn't for the different time periods, I would be confused as to which character is which. Besides that, I also was a bit more invested in Kevin's story than Gibran. Learning about the background history of the Columbia protests and seeing Kevin partake in the protests was interesting to me and I think those were the best chapters of the novel.
At times, I got annoyed with both Kevin and Gibran because Kevin had a really holier than thou attitude and Gibran was really bratty. It made reading the book frustrating at times. I did adore the healthy mother-son relationship that Dawn and Gibran had.
The ending had me feeling very unsatisfied because after a lot of built up Gibran's closing arc of the novel was just so meh... After constantly being mistreated he decides to leave Lakeside and his mom is okay with it. The school sucks and the principal has no backbone but a large portion of the novel was how Gibran's mom is pushing Gibran to go to the best schools so that he can succeed in life. Gibran leaving Lakeside was very anti-climatic and rushed. Gibran's story arc as a whole didn't feel that rewarding to me. I honestly think that the book could possibly be stronger if it was about both Dawn and Kevin. Dawn was my favorite character in the novel and was possibly one of the best things about it. I wished we got the chance to see more of her point of view.
Overall, I learned a lot while reading this and seeing the things that Kevin/Gibran went through throughout the novel still happen to this day is beyond sad and disheartening but I did like the inspiring message at the end of the novel. I just wished that the character arcs had a better resolution.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2023
I loved this novel so much!!!! Very deep and rich in history
April 27, 2024
“I imagine Columbia students fleeing a burning campus, facing the devastation of an oppressed people instead of tsking from afar.” — Chapter 2
“ ‘It’s always important. Doesn’t mean anything gets done.’ ” — Chapter 2
“Instead of vilifying and dismissing leaders who rally Black people to care for themselves and do for themselves, white people should ask themselves why would Black people follow this person, and why do they feel that what this person says is important and necessary?’ “ — Chapter 9
“Instead of assuming that Black students at Lakeside have separate interests and needs from Black people outside of Lakeside, students and faculty should listen to us. We define what we believe and what we need, inside and outside of class. For example, when entertainment is planned for the whole student body, the perspective of Black students should be considered. Will we find it funny when you mock our culture, as in the so-called rap performance at the talent show earlier this year? In fact, that kind of performance is modern-day blackface, and we should not be subjected to it. How can we learn in a place where we are ridiculed?’ ” — Chapter 9
“Agitation gets things going, but it’s patience that keeps things moving. And strategy. Strategy keeps a steady flame alive. And strategy requires some level of unity.” — Chapter 22
“ ‘It’s always important. Doesn’t mean anything gets done.’ ” — Chapter 2
“Instead of vilifying and dismissing leaders who rally Black people to care for themselves and do for themselves, white people should ask themselves why would Black people follow this person, and why do they feel that what this person says is important and necessary?’ “ — Chapter 9
“Instead of assuming that Black students at Lakeside have separate interests and needs from Black people outside of Lakeside, students and faculty should listen to us. We define what we believe and what we need, inside and outside of class. For example, when entertainment is planned for the whole student body, the perspective of Black students should be considered. Will we find it funny when you mock our culture, as in the so-called rap performance at the talent show earlier this year? In fact, that kind of performance is modern-day blackface, and we should not be subjected to it. How can we learn in a place where we are ridiculed?’ ” — Chapter 9
“Agitation gets things going, but it’s patience that keeps things moving. And strategy. Strategy keeps a steady flame alive. And strategy requires some level of unity.” — Chapter 22
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2023
It’s 1995, and Gibran is a Black teen attending the prestigious Lakeside Academy, a private high school. One of a few Black students, he is proud of his academic abilities and willingness to speak up. The Million Man March is coming up, so Gibran and his Black friends request to have a day of absence in honor of it. They think their Black principal couldn’t turn them down, but when their request is rejected, Gibran knows he must do more.
About 30 years earlier in 1968, Gibran’s uncle Kevin is struggling to make sense of Dr. King’s assassination. After reading numerous books about Black power, he is frustrated with the lack of progress he sees and wants more. Attending Columbia University, which is trying to expand in Harlem, Kevin sees an opening: a sit-in. Kevin and his fellow classmates hope this protest will lead to canceling the expansion, as well as improving their treatment on campus, but they are up against so much more than they ever could’ve imagined.
What an incredible debut! I love the connection between Gibran’s and Kevin’s experiences. 30 years and not much changed. There’s so much to dissect here, but I think what I loved the most was how author Autumn Allen made her readers a part of the story. Her characters had such depth. I learned so much from this book, and I can’t wait to share with my students.
NOTE: Be sure to read the author’s note at the end.
About 30 years earlier in 1968, Gibran’s uncle Kevin is struggling to make sense of Dr. King’s assassination. After reading numerous books about Black power, he is frustrated with the lack of progress he sees and wants more. Attending Columbia University, which is trying to expand in Harlem, Kevin sees an opening: a sit-in. Kevin and his fellow classmates hope this protest will lead to canceling the expansion, as well as improving their treatment on campus, but they are up against so much more than they ever could’ve imagined.
What an incredible debut! I love the connection between Gibran’s and Kevin’s experiences. 30 years and not much changed. There’s so much to dissect here, but I think what I loved the most was how author Autumn Allen made her readers a part of the story. Her characters had such depth. I learned so much from this book, and I can’t wait to share with my students.
NOTE: Be sure to read the author’s note at the end.
August 27, 2023
4/5 stars! This is one of those stories that teaches you something. Was this the strongest story ever written? No. But it was an important story and there's a power in that. I would strongly recommend this story for any youth or anyone who wants to learn how to uplift these important voices.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review
June 19, 2025
It took me ages to finish this because I just didn’t want to read it. Because it’s for a committee, I kept going… and it did smooth out, but was still underwhelming. The two MMCs are well-developed and I like how and why their stories intertwine. However, the plot was slow. But wasn’t beautifully-written enough to be “good” slow.
August 11, 2023
All You Have to Do by Autumn Allen is about two Black male students who struggle to gain acceptance and equality in the prestigious schools they attend. In April 1968, Kevin was a student at Princeton and lived through the day when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. He and his fellow students decide to join a protest to protect the neighboring community from losing their homes as Columbia University gobbles up more real estate to expand their institution to build a new gym. Kevin and his fellow students are disappointed in the college because those homes belong to low income people of color who won’t have anywhere else to go. The school made it seem that it cares about the community and its students of color but the move made the students think otherwise. Kevin is unsure where he falls in the spectrum because his family has afforded him more privileges in comparison to other Black students. At times, he questions if he should be pushing hard for equality or should be grateful for his opportunities and keep quiet.
In September 1995, Gibran attended a prestigious private prep school. He and his fellow Black male students want to attend the Million Man March to show support of their culture. When they try to convince the school to allow them to attend, they face backlash which might lead to several consequences for Gibran if he doesn’t get in line with the policies at school. Gibran feels that even though the school has a Black principal, his and his fellow classmates' needs are not being met. They are expected to conform to their White classmates and other faculty’s perspectives of them. Gibran is quick to anger and he feels with every injustice that he consecutively faces, that his fuse gets smaller and smaller. The people around him worry about him and for him, especially when he seems to be ready to explode at any given moment.
The two students are connected and their struggles overlap in many different ways. They both want to emphasize the struggles and inequalities that Black people face on a daily basis. Both Gibran and Kevin came from families that were able to provide them with opportunities that other people of color might not have. They want to protest the quality of treatment Black people receive but, calling attention to the cause might cause them both to lose their opportunities that their parents worked hard to provide them with. Will Kevin and Gibran be able to discover who they want to be instead of accepting who society tells them they are?
I thought the book was an emotional read. It spoke of two turbulent times in history where racial tensions were high. I never knew about the Columbia gym fiasco and that was interesting to read and learn about. The book was narrated by Gibran and Kevin who were born decades apart but had similar struggles. It was interesting seeing how they both navigated what society and their respective families wanted for them and how they wanted the world to perceive them. Both character arcs were well developed and coincide with historical events to add more depth to their stories.
The book showcases how different people experience different things. In Gibran’s chapters, he talks about how he and his fellow Black students had to watch a talent show in which white students were mimicking their culture and how disrespectful it felt to them. When he tried to explain how it made them feel, he was expected to show them respect about their thoughts and feelings but he didn’t get the same respect back. It was hard to read that because we are taught to show respect but I can relate to how he was feeling of not being seen and respected. I feel like these chapters might be hard to digest for some readers but it is important to understand other people’s feelings and culture and treat them respectfully.
I thought the book was thought provoking and had many important heartfelt moments. However, I was surprised at the language the book had included for young readers. Personally, I wish the author didn’t include this but, I can understand if they felt that it made the characters more authentic. This was the author’s debut novel and I look forward to reading more books by the author.
In September 1995, Gibran attended a prestigious private prep school. He and his fellow Black male students want to attend the Million Man March to show support of their culture. When they try to convince the school to allow them to attend, they face backlash which might lead to several consequences for Gibran if he doesn’t get in line with the policies at school. Gibran feels that even though the school has a Black principal, his and his fellow classmates' needs are not being met. They are expected to conform to their White classmates and other faculty’s perspectives of them. Gibran is quick to anger and he feels with every injustice that he consecutively faces, that his fuse gets smaller and smaller. The people around him worry about him and for him, especially when he seems to be ready to explode at any given moment.
The two students are connected and their struggles overlap in many different ways. They both want to emphasize the struggles and inequalities that Black people face on a daily basis. Both Gibran and Kevin came from families that were able to provide them with opportunities that other people of color might not have. They want to protest the quality of treatment Black people receive but, calling attention to the cause might cause them both to lose their opportunities that their parents worked hard to provide them with. Will Kevin and Gibran be able to discover who they want to be instead of accepting who society tells them they are?
I thought the book was an emotional read. It spoke of two turbulent times in history where racial tensions were high. I never knew about the Columbia gym fiasco and that was interesting to read and learn about. The book was narrated by Gibran and Kevin who were born decades apart but had similar struggles. It was interesting seeing how they both navigated what society and their respective families wanted for them and how they wanted the world to perceive them. Both character arcs were well developed and coincide with historical events to add more depth to their stories.
The book showcases how different people experience different things. In Gibran’s chapters, he talks about how he and his fellow Black students had to watch a talent show in which white students were mimicking their culture and how disrespectful it felt to them. When he tried to explain how it made them feel, he was expected to show them respect about their thoughts and feelings but he didn’t get the same respect back. It was hard to read that because we are taught to show respect but I can relate to how he was feeling of not being seen and respected. I feel like these chapters might be hard to digest for some readers but it is important to understand other people’s feelings and culture and treat them respectfully.
I thought the book was thought provoking and had many important heartfelt moments. However, I was surprised at the language the book had included for young readers. Personally, I wish the author didn’t include this but, I can understand if they felt that it made the characters more authentic. This was the author’s debut novel and I look forward to reading more books by the author.
July 19, 2023
I was very interested to read All You Have to Do. I do enjoy dual timeline books a lot. I enjoyed the author’s writing. I feel like I learned some things reading this story. The story is about Gibran in 1995 dealing with racism and also about his uncle,Kevin in 1968 dealing with it as well. It is unforunate that after 30 years Black men still have to deal with some of the issues they did in society. The author shows how Black men and women sometimes deal with racism differently; women would just sort of let things go to avoid confrontation and men felt like they needed to stand up for themselves, which seems to be true. It is sad how Kevin was treated differently than the white boys in school. The author showed how Kevin’s mother tried to protect him by asking him not to “cause” trouble at school by standing up for himself only because she wanted the best for him. I truly enjoyed this book.
June 22, 2023
This debut YA novel tells the story of two young Black men during different time periods but undergoing similar struggles with finding a way to stand up for themselves and their communities within elite institutions. Kevin is a Columbia college student in the late 1960s who participates in a sit-in to protest Columbia’s expansion into the neighboring Harlem community. Gibran is a senior at a prestigious private school in the mid 1990s trying to push his community to listen and do more to support Black students.
I loved how the author weaved in past and present throughout the book and brought to light characters that, while fictionalized, felt so real perhaps partly because of their basis in history and real events. This was a touching, impactful, educational and beautiful debut YA novel from Autumn Allen. Can’t wait to see what she writes next!
Disclaimer: Note that this review was based on an ARC I received from the publisher, but did not impact my review in any way!
I loved how the author weaved in past and present throughout the book and brought to light characters that, while fictionalized, felt so real perhaps partly because of their basis in history and real events. This was a touching, impactful, educational and beautiful debut YA novel from Autumn Allen. Can’t wait to see what she writes next!
Disclaimer: Note that this review was based on an ARC I received from the publisher, but did not impact my review in any way!
January 3, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝘼 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨) 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖.
I feel like I’m on the fence with this book. I went into it with low expectations as I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be for me. The premise was so interesting and I would definitely recommend this book without a doubt.
Kevin and Gibran were both interesting characters and I enjoyed that the book focused on two different timelines, while both characters still dealt with the same issues.
I think I was a bit more intrigued by Kevin, mainly because I found it more interesting reading about his character and the issues he faced during the Civil Rights era.
While I think this book would work so much more for other readers, I didn’t feel too attached to it. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, I just couldn’t connect to it that well.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!
𝘼 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨) 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖.
I feel like I’m on the fence with this book. I went into it with low expectations as I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be for me. The premise was so interesting and I would definitely recommend this book without a doubt.
Kevin and Gibran were both interesting characters and I enjoyed that the book focused on two different timelines, while both characters still dealt with the same issues.
I think I was a bit more intrigued by Kevin, mainly because I found it more interesting reading about his character and the issues he faced during the Civil Rights era.
While I think this book would work so much more for other readers, I didn’t feel too attached to it. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, I just couldn’t connect to it that well.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!
September 14, 2023
4.5⭐️
(Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me this book!)
Not exactly the type of book I was expecting, but a solid read nonetheless. Watching the contrasts Autumn Allen drew between Kevin and his nephew Gibran as the story progressed was attention grabbing, and helps you understand why Gibran's mom reacted in certain waves. The author wove a brilliant story, that challenges the reader to look at activism from another perspective. I enjoyed that as the book went on, both characters learned that women had a place in the fight for civil rights, and more than deserved to be included in the much needed conversation. I'm excited to see what Autumn Allen does next. I will be recommending this read to friends and family.
(Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me this book!)
Not exactly the type of book I was expecting, but a solid read nonetheless. Watching the contrasts Autumn Allen drew between Kevin and his nephew Gibran as the story progressed was attention grabbing, and helps you understand why Gibran's mom reacted in certain waves. The author wove a brilliant story, that challenges the reader to look at activism from another perspective. I enjoyed that as the book went on, both characters learned that women had a place in the fight for civil rights, and more than deserved to be included in the much needed conversation. I'm excited to see what Autumn Allen does next. I will be recommending this read to friends and family.
December 13, 2023
I believe the author relies far too strongly on stereotypes of what these characters would be thinking and doing and fails to bring them to life.
August 11, 2023
I will preface this review by saying that I do believe that this is a story that needs to be told. Although there are a few books arising that address the issue of Black identity in relation to the rigid, white Western world of academia, they are still very much in the minority and tend to be mostly thrillers as opposed to actual explorations on the topic. Hence my decision to take what would otherwise be a 2.5 star review and round it up to 3 stars.
The themes of this book are solid. We have our two protagonists, Kevin and Gibran, both battling entrenched racism in their prestigious academic institutions in the 1960s and 1990s respectively. There is discussion about the exclusion of Black history and identity in these institutions, and how the historical whiteness of academia tends to still push that trend of exclusion even as they give lip service to integration and opportunity. All of these points were themes that I could agree with, understand, and support as Kevin and Gibran became frustrated with the administrators in charge of pushing these philosophies.
What I couldn't understand or support was the unlikability of both of these characters as their frustration with the institution caused them to lash out at the friends and family around them. Perhaps my dislike stems from my own personal background as an Indian woman and not a Black man, and therefore my own ignorance on the nuances and everyday struggles of this group, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated at how often both Kevin and Gibran criticized if not outright insulted the Black individuals in their life that chose to work within the system and use it as a stepping stone for the future. It often seemed as if the author was trying to depict them as sellouts instead of individuals reliant on the system and therefore trying their best to make it work for them as best as they could, with the potential of using it for their own gain. In other words, it seemed as if the protagonists in their quest to make their environments more inclusive were instead pushing for more exclusion.
Again, perhaps this is my own misunderstanding and biases coming into play into how I enjoyed this book. Still, I could not help but feel frustrated with both Kevin and Gibran as they would talk about Black people needing work within their own community to fix their issues without help from others and Black women needing to be placed on a pedestal. Both of those statements seemed to be exclusionary to the point where I couldn't help but wonder if it pushed for a new, different type of segregation.
All criticisms aside, I do feel that "All You Have To Do" does do one thing right, and that is bring up the topic of the exclusionary and inherent elitism of academia in opposition to the Black identity. Again, while other books have done this ("Ace of Spades" comes to mind), it has been mostly been undercut with a thriller/high stakes plot that tends to obscure the racial themes. This book does not have that, and is a book bent on solely exploring those racial themes. That being said, I do hope there is more discourse and more YA novels that bring up different aspects of the Black struggle in this regard because this one did have elements that were a bit disjointed and concerning for me.
Thanks to BookishFirst for allowing me to read a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The themes of this book are solid. We have our two protagonists, Kevin and Gibran, both battling entrenched racism in their prestigious academic institutions in the 1960s and 1990s respectively. There is discussion about the exclusion of Black history and identity in these institutions, and how the historical whiteness of academia tends to still push that trend of exclusion even as they give lip service to integration and opportunity. All of these points were themes that I could agree with, understand, and support as Kevin and Gibran became frustrated with the administrators in charge of pushing these philosophies.
What I couldn't understand or support was the unlikability of both of these characters as their frustration with the institution caused them to lash out at the friends and family around them. Perhaps my dislike stems from my own personal background as an Indian woman and not a Black man, and therefore my own ignorance on the nuances and everyday struggles of this group, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated at how often both Kevin and Gibran criticized if not outright insulted the Black individuals in their life that chose to work within the system and use it as a stepping stone for the future. It often seemed as if the author was trying to depict them as sellouts instead of individuals reliant on the system and therefore trying their best to make it work for them as best as they could, with the potential of using it for their own gain. In other words, it seemed as if the protagonists in their quest to make their environments more inclusive were instead pushing for more exclusion.
Again, perhaps this is my own misunderstanding and biases coming into play into how I enjoyed this book. Still, I could not help but feel frustrated with both Kevin and Gibran as they would talk about Black people needing work within their own community to fix their issues without help from others and Black women needing to be placed on a pedestal. Both of those statements seemed to be exclusionary to the point where I couldn't help but wonder if it pushed for a new, different type of segregation.
All criticisms aside, I do feel that "All You Have To Do" does do one thing right, and that is bring up the topic of the exclusionary and inherent elitism of academia in opposition to the Black identity. Again, while other books have done this ("Ace of Spades" comes to mind), it has been mostly been undercut with a thriller/high stakes plot that tends to obscure the racial themes. This book does not have that, and is a book bent on solely exploring those racial themes. That being said, I do hope there is more discourse and more YA novels that bring up different aspects of the Black struggle in this regard because this one did have elements that were a bit disjointed and concerning for me.
Thanks to BookishFirst for allowing me to read a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 30, 2023
Thank you Penguin for this ARC
I went into this book expecting history, and difficult racial experiences. I didn't expect such raw and empathic writing. Allen doesn't just tell you about what Kevin and Gibran are experiencing, her writing pulls you into the story right into their shoes. I've never read a book where the level at which the character is experiencing plot also has the reader experiencing everything to such perfect detail.
The story follows Kevin and Gibran, two young Black men in different time periods facing similar struggles. Kevin's POV leads up to the events of the Columbia University sit in, while Gibran tries to get his school to allow him and other Black students to attend the Million Man March. Both contend with racism, microaggressions, gaslighting, and pushback at the thought that racism is even happening in their schools.
I really love this book. It focuses on very real events of history that doesn't get taught in schools, and if it does it is with a glossy sheen. The relationship that Gibran has with his Mother is executed so well. She is someone who has lived through horrible events and has experienced a level of fear that Gibran hasn't yet. She just wants to protect her family, and has seen what activism has done to people like her brother. The frustration Gibran experiences with feeling like she doesn't understand or hear him, it just was so good. I also really liked the drawings through the book, again it just helped set the scene and visualize what is going on. I promise this isn't the gut wrenching book I fear I am making it sound like. There is so much hope in this, and support. The way Harlem comes together to support the protesters and bring them food, and how Gibran's friends and classmates just want to help him if he would only listen. The way family is so strong in this story and always supports the characters with love, even if they don't quite seem to understand (or like) what has them so passionate. The sense of community and togetherness makes every difficult scene worth reading.
Please make sure you check your trigger warnings before reading. Apart from the racism, the tension in scenes especially with police and protests had me on edge, and it will be difficult for a lot of people to read.
There are certain groups of people who like to think that racism and microaggressions are always loud and obvious, big events that lead to arguments. The reality is that it much more like a slow and steady drip of seemingly inconsequential events. Ignorant and passive aggressive actions actions that just build and build and poke and poke and prod and hurt until everything just builds up and the pressure explodes. And then it is all "why are you so defensive. We didn't mean it that way. " If you fight back you are the problem. Etc. Or you hold it inside of you and it eats away at your dignity and everything you are until you are composed of nothing but bitterness and rage.
This is the third book that I've read this year focusing on the BIPOC experience at predominantly white schools. They continue to be some of the most relatable, raw, and overall excellent books that I will never stop recommending.
I HIGHLY recommend this book, and I can't wait to read what Autumn Allen writes next.
I went into this book expecting history, and difficult racial experiences. I didn't expect such raw and empathic writing. Allen doesn't just tell you about what Kevin and Gibran are experiencing, her writing pulls you into the story right into their shoes. I've never read a book where the level at which the character is experiencing plot also has the reader experiencing everything to such perfect detail.
The story follows Kevin and Gibran, two young Black men in different time periods facing similar struggles. Kevin's POV leads up to the events of the Columbia University sit in, while Gibran tries to get his school to allow him and other Black students to attend the Million Man March. Both contend with racism, microaggressions, gaslighting, and pushback at the thought that racism is even happening in their schools.
I really love this book. It focuses on very real events of history that doesn't get taught in schools, and if it does it is with a glossy sheen. The relationship that Gibran has with his Mother is executed so well. She is someone who has lived through horrible events and has experienced a level of fear that Gibran hasn't yet. She just wants to protect her family, and has seen what activism has done to people like her brother. The frustration Gibran experiences with feeling like she doesn't understand or hear him, it just was so good. I also really liked the drawings through the book, again it just helped set the scene and visualize what is going on. I promise this isn't the gut wrenching book I fear I am making it sound like. There is so much hope in this, and support. The way Harlem comes together to support the protesters and bring them food, and how Gibran's friends and classmates just want to help him if he would only listen. The way family is so strong in this story and always supports the characters with love, even if they don't quite seem to understand (or like) what has them so passionate. The sense of community and togetherness makes every difficult scene worth reading.
Please make sure you check your trigger warnings before reading. Apart from the racism, the tension in scenes especially with police and protests had me on edge, and it will be difficult for a lot of people to read.
There are certain groups of people who like to think that racism and microaggressions are always loud and obvious, big events that lead to arguments. The reality is that it much more like a slow and steady drip of seemingly inconsequential events. Ignorant and passive aggressive actions actions that just build and build and poke and poke and prod and hurt until everything just builds up and the pressure explodes. And then it is all "why are you so defensive. We didn't mean it that way. " If you fight back you are the problem. Etc. Or you hold it inside of you and it eats away at your dignity and everything you are until you are composed of nothing but bitterness and rage.
This is the third book that I've read this year focusing on the BIPOC experience at predominantly white schools. They continue to be some of the most relatable, raw, and overall excellent books that I will never stop recommending.
I HIGHLY recommend this book, and I can't wait to read what Autumn Allen writes next.
October 9, 2024
I enjoyed this book because I felt like, as a white woman, it gave me new perspective from the viewpoint of a black person. However, that is one of the major points of this book - that white people think they understand but they really don't.
I think color doesn't matter and that I can treat people without bias, but this book made me think again. "The dream of color not mattering has not been achieved. White people walk around as individuals. Black people do not have that luxury. White people get the benefit of the doubt and are assumed innocent even with evidence against them. The opposite is true for Black people. We walk around with stereotypes attached to us, and everything we do, say, and wear is judged as if it either proves that we're a real-life stereotype, or miraculously sets us apart from the rest of our people." (ePg. 210) I also found Ch. 13, around ePg. 274, most insightful.
The story bounces between the last '60s and the late '90's. It bounces between the occupation of Columbia university and the society of Rodney King and the Million Man March led by Luis Farakhan. Kevin & Dawn are siblings who find different ways to fight for racial equality in the '60
s. Kevin tells Dawn, "I'm fighting for our future children. So they won't have to choose between having good opportunities in life and being their authentic Black self." (ePg. 385) In the '90's, Gibran is Dawn's son. In spite of over 20 years that have passed, Gibran follows a similar path as his Uncle Kevin.
I did find it interesting that, mid-sentence, the author always capitalized "Black" but never "white. As in, "...of the Black students, the white protestors..." (ePg. 226) That seems to me like some sort of reverse racism.
In addition to shedding light on racial issues, I found a couple of passages that I marked for future use with my at-risk, discipline students. Like when Gibran is touring new schools and the principal tells him, "I'm on your side. ... I want you to win. In order for that to happen, I want to see you stay focused on your future and act in your own best interests." (ePg. 378) She also told him, "We want to prepare you for the world, ...with all its flaws. I know you want to change the world. And I believe you can. It's important to know that, for all your talent and all your intelligence, you can also let the world pull you down. To be honest, I've seen boys just as smart as you come through these doors and not graduate. I've seen smarter boys than you do time behind bars. Every choice, big and small, matters for you. For your future." (ePg. 378)
The author has a fantastic ability to weave the story into and around all the salient points she made. I learned a lot from reading this book, yet it read more like a novel than an expository essay. She makes strong points, but it seems like her main objective in writing this novel was entertainment. Entertainment with a message - it's a win-win. Almost like Historical Fiction. In fact, maybe this could be classified as Historical Fiction because she weaves in lots of history and historical figures.
This book should be required reading for students; maybe replacing The Diary of Anne Frank.
I think color doesn't matter and that I can treat people without bias, but this book made me think again. "The dream of color not mattering has not been achieved. White people walk around as individuals. Black people do not have that luxury. White people get the benefit of the doubt and are assumed innocent even with evidence against them. The opposite is true for Black people. We walk around with stereotypes attached to us, and everything we do, say, and wear is judged as if it either proves that we're a real-life stereotype, or miraculously sets us apart from the rest of our people." (ePg. 210) I also found Ch. 13, around ePg. 274, most insightful.
The story bounces between the last '60s and the late '90's. It bounces between the occupation of Columbia university and the society of Rodney King and the Million Man March led by Luis Farakhan. Kevin & Dawn are siblings who find different ways to fight for racial equality in the '60
s. Kevin tells Dawn, "I'm fighting for our future children. So they won't have to choose between having good opportunities in life and being their authentic Black self." (ePg. 385) In the '90's, Gibran is Dawn's son. In spite of over 20 years that have passed, Gibran follows a similar path as his Uncle Kevin.
I did find it interesting that, mid-sentence, the author always capitalized "Black" but never "white. As in, "...of the Black students, the white protestors..." (ePg. 226) That seems to me like some sort of reverse racism.
In addition to shedding light on racial issues, I found a couple of passages that I marked for future use with my at-risk, discipline students. Like when Gibran is touring new schools and the principal tells him, "I'm on your side. ... I want you to win. In order for that to happen, I want to see you stay focused on your future and act in your own best interests." (ePg. 378) She also told him, "We want to prepare you for the world, ...with all its flaws. I know you want to change the world. And I believe you can. It's important to know that, for all your talent and all your intelligence, you can also let the world pull you down. To be honest, I've seen boys just as smart as you come through these doors and not graduate. I've seen smarter boys than you do time behind bars. Every choice, big and small, matters for you. For your future." (ePg. 378)
The author has a fantastic ability to weave the story into and around all the salient points she made. I learned a lot from reading this book, yet it read more like a novel than an expository essay. She makes strong points, but it seems like her main objective in writing this novel was entertainment. Entertainment with a message - it's a win-win. Almost like Historical Fiction. In fact, maybe this could be classified as Historical Fiction because she weaves in lots of history and historical figures.
This book should be required reading for students; maybe replacing The Diary of Anne Frank.
August 28, 2023
Thank you to Bookish First and Penguin Teen for the ARC!
I want to start by saying, I originally thought I wasn't really the target audience for this book, and I was emphatically wrong. My main concern was "I'm a white woman, how am I supposed to feel about this book?" and the issue with that line of thinking is that it wasn't written for MY feelings. It was written for my EDUCATION.
Kevin is an undergrad student at Columbia University in 1968. On the heels of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Kevin is enraged with his environment and Columbia's land grabbing in Harlem. Along with his classmates, the Black students of Columbia engage in an impromptu sit-in protest to fight for their education being more inclusive and against the Columbia gym construction that threatens Morningside Park.
Gibran is a high school senior at Lakeside Academy in 1995. Trying to survive his last year of high school when he's already gotten early admission to Howard is all he can focus on, but when the systemic racism becomes too much, Gibran feels he must fight for his life in the school. When the school principal denies a Day of Absence in observance of the Million Man March, Gibran has had enough and starts his fight for revolution.
Two men, thirty years apart, fighting for revolution in different ways and both working their way to self-destruction without realizing it. Outside influences and family are pulling them in two different directions. They're at risk of alienating their family and friends and becoming "troublemakers" thus further hardening their fight.
This book taught me about civil rights fights I learned nothing about in school at any point in my life. I met civil rights leaders I've never heard about, specifically Stockley Carmichael, now Kwame Ture, and H. Rap Brown, now Jamil al-Amin. The Columbia protests were fascinating to me because reading about the white students at the beginning of the sit-in acting like it's a party instead of protest was entirely relatable. You don't belong there if you aren't willing to act right.
My overall feelings on this book was that I was blown away. An excellent historical fiction story that put you IN the action. I truly believe this would be an amazing course book for American Literature classes in middle or high school. The conversations an educator could lead on this book are endless. The conversations started in Gibran's course were enough to get me thinking.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, all ages, all races, all creeds. I learned so much and I have grown for having read this.
Thank you, Ms. Allen, for this truly eye-opening experience.
I want to start by saying, I originally thought I wasn't really the target audience for this book, and I was emphatically wrong. My main concern was "I'm a white woman, how am I supposed to feel about this book?" and the issue with that line of thinking is that it wasn't written for MY feelings. It was written for my EDUCATION.
Kevin is an undergrad student at Columbia University in 1968. On the heels of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Kevin is enraged with his environment and Columbia's land grabbing in Harlem. Along with his classmates, the Black students of Columbia engage in an impromptu sit-in protest to fight for their education being more inclusive and against the Columbia gym construction that threatens Morningside Park.
Gibran is a high school senior at Lakeside Academy in 1995. Trying to survive his last year of high school when he's already gotten early admission to Howard is all he can focus on, but when the systemic racism becomes too much, Gibran feels he must fight for his life in the school. When the school principal denies a Day of Absence in observance of the Million Man March, Gibran has had enough and starts his fight for revolution.
Two men, thirty years apart, fighting for revolution in different ways and both working their way to self-destruction without realizing it. Outside influences and family are pulling them in two different directions. They're at risk of alienating their family and friends and becoming "troublemakers" thus further hardening their fight.
This book taught me about civil rights fights I learned nothing about in school at any point in my life. I met civil rights leaders I've never heard about, specifically Stockley Carmichael, now Kwame Ture, and H. Rap Brown, now Jamil al-Amin. The Columbia protests were fascinating to me because reading about the white students at the beginning of the sit-in acting like it's a party instead of protest was entirely relatable. You don't belong there if you aren't willing to act right.
My overall feelings on this book was that I was blown away. An excellent historical fiction story that put you IN the action. I truly believe this would be an amazing course book for American Literature classes in middle or high school. The conversations an educator could lead on this book are endless. The conversations started in Gibran's course were enough to get me thinking.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, all ages, all races, all creeds. I learned so much and I have grown for having read this.
Thank you, Ms. Allen, for this truly eye-opening experience.
June 24, 2023
First off, as a white reader, there's a lot in here that I don't feel qualified to weigh in on.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO follows two young men: a college student named Kevin in 1968 protesting the construction of the Columbia gym, and a high school in 1995 named Gibran trying to get permission from his predominantly white high school to attend the Million Man March.
Neither of these characters are perfect. They both make mistakes throughout the course of the story, and while the main themes center around what it means to be a Black man in America, this book also addresses generational trauma, the impacts of politics on interpersonal relationships, and how Black women are (or aren't) generally included in the conversation. Kevin isn't sure of where he falls in the movement, and Gibran is quick to anger as his fuse gets shorter with each injustice he experiences at his school. They're both trying to figure out how to balance their need for social change with their desire to be part of their community, while also struggling to meet the emotional needs of their friends and family.
I recently read the MARCH trilogy, which provided a large context for the conversations about the SNCC and NOI, etc., which I found very helpful for understanding the nuance of some of the conversations. That said, I think the message and the character development doesn't rely on understanding the minutiae of the politics, so much as how the conversations of those politics apply to the story.
As you might be able to tell from the rest of this review, this is a fairly dense book that gets into a bunch of topics, but it always centers the characters first. I enjoyed it, and I admit that I didn't know anything about the Columbia gym protest before this.
At its heart, this book is about two young men trying to find themselves, and I loved how it all came together at the end. Gibran's story might be set in the '90s, but the conversations that happen in his timeline are extremely relevant.
I'd like to add that while this book focuses on a distinctly Black experience, there are a number of scenes designed to make white readers sit with and consider uncomfortable truths. I'd love to see conversations around this book when it releases, because there's a lot to unpack.
Thank you to Bookishfirst for the ARC. My review is voluntary and entirely my own.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO follows two young men: a college student named Kevin in 1968 protesting the construction of the Columbia gym, and a high school in 1995 named Gibran trying to get permission from his predominantly white high school to attend the Million Man March.
Neither of these characters are perfect. They both make mistakes throughout the course of the story, and while the main themes center around what it means to be a Black man in America, this book also addresses generational trauma, the impacts of politics on interpersonal relationships, and how Black women are (or aren't) generally included in the conversation. Kevin isn't sure of where he falls in the movement, and Gibran is quick to anger as his fuse gets shorter with each injustice he experiences at his school. They're both trying to figure out how to balance their need for social change with their desire to be part of their community, while also struggling to meet the emotional needs of their friends and family.
I recently read the MARCH trilogy, which provided a large context for the conversations about the SNCC and NOI, etc., which I found very helpful for understanding the nuance of some of the conversations. That said, I think the message and the character development doesn't rely on understanding the minutiae of the politics, so much as how the conversations of those politics apply to the story.
As you might be able to tell from the rest of this review, this is a fairly dense book that gets into a bunch of topics, but it always centers the characters first. I enjoyed it, and I admit that I didn't know anything about the Columbia gym protest before this.
At its heart, this book is about two young men trying to find themselves, and I loved how it all came together at the end. Gibran's story might be set in the '90s, but the conversations that happen in his timeline are extremely relevant.
I'd like to add that while this book focuses on a distinctly Black experience, there are a number of scenes designed to make white readers sit with and consider uncomfortable truths. I'd love to see conversations around this book when it releases, because there's a lot to unpack.
Thank you to Bookishfirst for the ARC. My review is voluntary and entirely my own.
September 18, 2023
thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fully and properly put into words what this book is, but I can confidently say that it is truly engaging and well-written. Autumn Allen has woven together two historical timelines to create a story that is deeply personal while also working within the timeline of very real history. It’s almost shocking how applicable some of the experiences are to the present day, and to that they are so much more important to tell. The humanity of the MC’s as well as the people around them is really engaging and I really appreciated Allen’s intentional inclusion of a variety of perspectives even outside of the main characters’. This book was so readable and made me even more curious and I truly recommend reading it.
What ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is ultimately looking at how it is to be a young Black man at a so-called prestigious academic institution, and what it takes to succeed under those circumstances, 30 years apart. It captures two timelines, April 1968 with the Columbia University protests following Dr. King’s death, and 1995 surrounding the Million Man March. In part because of how recent this history is and in part because of Allen’s writing, these timelines feel near contemporary, and flow so well within plotlines and character arcs.
I’m not a huge historical fiction reader but I honestly ended up finding this book really hard to put down. It’s the kind of book that makes you curious, even about the topics I was already familiar with. It also does a good job of letting the characters be true individuals in a character sense despite being composites of historical experiences. Yes, it’s absolutely powerful and thought-provoking but it’s also just a good, and very heartfelt book, and one I would happily read again.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fully and properly put into words what this book is, but I can confidently say that it is truly engaging and well-written. Autumn Allen has woven together two historical timelines to create a story that is deeply personal while also working within the timeline of very real history. It’s almost shocking how applicable some of the experiences are to the present day, and to that they are so much more important to tell. The humanity of the MC’s as well as the people around them is really engaging and I really appreciated Allen’s intentional inclusion of a variety of perspectives even outside of the main characters’. This book was so readable and made me even more curious and I truly recommend reading it.
What ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is ultimately looking at how it is to be a young Black man at a so-called prestigious academic institution, and what it takes to succeed under those circumstances, 30 years apart. It captures two timelines, April 1968 with the Columbia University protests following Dr. King’s death, and 1995 surrounding the Million Man March. In part because of how recent this history is and in part because of Allen’s writing, these timelines feel near contemporary, and flow so well within plotlines and character arcs.
I’m not a huge historical fiction reader but I honestly ended up finding this book really hard to put down. It’s the kind of book that makes you curious, even about the topics I was already familiar with. It also does a good job of letting the characters be true individuals in a character sense despite being composites of historical experiences. Yes, it’s absolutely powerful and thought-provoking but it’s also just a good, and very heartfelt book, and one I would happily read again.
February 16, 2024
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
All You Have to Do originally caught my attention months ago, but it sadly fell by the wayside for one reason or another until I committed to picking it up as part of my Black History Month reading. And having read it, I’m impressed, particularly in how it captures two periods of recent-ish Black history, highlighting both the progress made and how far we still have to go. While I knew a little more about the 1960s and the Civil Rights movement, I still took away a lot from that part of the book, especially how it centered a real-life protest in reaction to the expansion of Columbia University into Morningside Heights. I liked how this was mirrored with the 1995 arc’s centering of the polarizing response to the Million Man March, sadly something I did not learn about in school.
With the backdrop of protest in both time periods, I love that Gibran and Kevin stand up for their passion for what they believe in against the elites of their society, whether it be a prestigious university or a fancy prep school. I also appreciated how the two were tied together beyond the thematic parallels, with Kevin being Gibran’s mother’s brother, but the relationship between siblings being complicated, just as Gibran’s relationship with his mother can sometimes also not be less than perfect.
This is a solid debut, and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for more books from Autumn Allen in the future. If you’re looking for a book that explore two pivotal moments in Black history through the lenses of Black teen boys, I’d recommend checking out this book!
All You Have to Do originally caught my attention months ago, but it sadly fell by the wayside for one reason or another until I committed to picking it up as part of my Black History Month reading. And having read it, I’m impressed, particularly in how it captures two periods of recent-ish Black history, highlighting both the progress made and how far we still have to go. While I knew a little more about the 1960s and the Civil Rights movement, I still took away a lot from that part of the book, especially how it centered a real-life protest in reaction to the expansion of Columbia University into Morningside Heights. I liked how this was mirrored with the 1995 arc’s centering of the polarizing response to the Million Man March, sadly something I did not learn about in school.
With the backdrop of protest in both time periods, I love that Gibran and Kevin stand up for their passion for what they believe in against the elites of their society, whether it be a prestigious university or a fancy prep school. I also appreciated how the two were tied together beyond the thematic parallels, with Kevin being Gibran’s mother’s brother, but the relationship between siblings being complicated, just as Gibran’s relationship with his mother can sometimes also not be less than perfect.
This is a solid debut, and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for more books from Autumn Allen in the future. If you’re looking for a book that explore two pivotal moments in Black history through the lenses of Black teen boys, I’d recommend checking out this book!
February 21, 2025
I feel bad rating this one so low, but unfortunately, even though it covers very important topics, I can't see many teen readers picking this up. I personally don't think the cover art will do it any favors either. I think this book is way too long if this is supposed to be for teen readers (it almost feels like it's an "adults that read YA" book)... it has never taken me this many days to finish a 12-hour audio book. While I was interested in the topic, I kept finding myself doing everything else but hitting play to continue. Gibran's fury is completely valid and relevant, but it personally made me not look forward to his chapters.
I did like how Gibran and Kevin's stories run parallel to each other in a lot of ways, and how they end up connecting. I wish the author had given us more from Gibran's Mom than we got since she DID play a role in all of this and was another good viewpoint on student protests. The alternating, fairly quick chapters was engaging, and I loved how real life players of the Civil Rights Movement were worked into the narrative. I also liked how readers are given different levels of activism and how even within the movement, there can be differing viewpoints and conflict. I do wish that the author actually addressed the sexism that was all over the book (appropriate for the times or not) in both timelines... even if this was dealt with in an author's note at the end. Both movements kept centering around the men and tried to push the ladies away, like they can't be in the front of social justice.
The narrators on the audiobook do a good job, but while the topic was very interesting, I never got hooked into feeling like I needed to keep reading.
I did like how Gibran and Kevin's stories run parallel to each other in a lot of ways, and how they end up connecting. I wish the author had given us more from Gibran's Mom than we got since she DID play a role in all of this and was another good viewpoint on student protests. The alternating, fairly quick chapters was engaging, and I loved how real life players of the Civil Rights Movement were worked into the narrative. I also liked how readers are given different levels of activism and how even within the movement, there can be differing viewpoints and conflict. I do wish that the author actually addressed the sexism that was all over the book (appropriate for the times or not) in both timelines... even if this was dealt with in an author's note at the end. Both movements kept centering around the men and tried to push the ladies away, like they can't be in the front of social justice.
The narrators on the audiobook do a good job, but while the topic was very interesting, I never got hooked into feeling like I needed to keep reading.
September 20, 2023
Teenagers Kevin and Gibran may be living a generation apart, but their challenges, dreams, and passions are similar. Both find themselves attending schools filled with mostly white, affluent students and must deal with many racist microagressions and discrimminations aimed at them by classmates and educators alike. Both long to be free of the constraints placed on them and the attacks directed at them by society. And both are willing to stand up and speak out to make change.
Kevin, an Ivy League student in the 1960's becomes involved in a student protest at Columbia University that culminates in students taking over a school building. Meanwhile a generation later, high school student Gibran fights back against his prep school's claim of color blindness while trying to make sense of differing views on activism and the upcoming Million Man March.
This book is thought provoking, well-researched, and issue-oriented. It really takes the reader into some of this historical events and its characters are authentic and show strong character developement throughout the story. Though both plotlines are engaging, I found myself especially curious about Kevin's as I knew very little about the Columbia protests. (And highly recommend reading the author's note which contained more analysis of this event.)
Recommended (according to Amazon) for ages 12-17 or grades 7th-9th. I felt the book focuses more on family, community, social justice, and activism than it does on high school and/or college life, making it appeal to a wider range of ages, including adults.
Kevin, an Ivy League student in the 1960's becomes involved in a student protest at Columbia University that culminates in students taking over a school building. Meanwhile a generation later, high school student Gibran fights back against his prep school's claim of color blindness while trying to make sense of differing views on activism and the upcoming Million Man March.
This book is thought provoking, well-researched, and issue-oriented. It really takes the reader into some of this historical events and its characters are authentic and show strong character developement throughout the story. Though both plotlines are engaging, I found myself especially curious about Kevin's as I knew very little about the Columbia protests. (And highly recommend reading the author's note which contained more analysis of this event.)
Recommended (according to Amazon) for ages 12-17 or grades 7th-9th. I felt the book focuses more on family, community, social justice, and activism than it does on high school and/or college life, making it appeal to a wider range of ages, including adults.
March 20, 2025
Autumn Allen has imagined a compelling premise about two young Black men connected across thirty years. In 1968, Kevin attends Columbia University in NYC, but in the aftermath of MLK’s assassination his focus is drawn from his classes towards activism to prevent the university from confiscating land for expansion of its campus by taking over Black neighborhoods. In 1995, Gibran attends an elite prep school in Massachusetts as one of the few Black students, but he too has his focus taken from his studies as he wants to attend the Million Man March in DC. If not immediately evident, the relations between Kevin and Gibran slowly become clear, but the narrative contains too many didactic sections and superficial dialogue sequences that stall the action and momentum of their stories.
Allen attempts to make the missions of Kevin and Gibran tied up with the legacy and vitality of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, but these two immortal Americans and what they fought and died for never attained the necessary force where they were elevated to the heights they deserve throughout the novel. Perhaps that’s what makes All You Have to Do lackluster: its main characters don’t feel alive enough with delivering the novel’s message to expose and confront racism. Kevin and Gibran felt more like caricatures rather than dynamic, real-life characters with purposes to deliver the truth the way Malcolm and Martin did. I commend Allen for developing a pair of stories across generations that take on the disease of racism, but I wish the narratives had been more compelling.
Allen attempts to make the missions of Kevin and Gibran tied up with the legacy and vitality of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, but these two immortal Americans and what they fought and died for never attained the necessary force where they were elevated to the heights they deserve throughout the novel. Perhaps that’s what makes All You Have to Do lackluster: its main characters don’t feel alive enough with delivering the novel’s message to expose and confront racism. Kevin and Gibran felt more like caricatures rather than dynamic, real-life characters with purposes to deliver the truth the way Malcolm and Martin did. I commend Allen for developing a pair of stories across generations that take on the disease of racism, but I wish the narratives had been more compelling.
February 17, 2025
A transformational read. I saw this book randomly in a bookstore and thought the cover jacket was interesting. Two characters set in the 1960s (Kevin) and 1990s (Gibran) in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and the aftermath. The author was very intentional about incorporating the historical events and references throughout the storyline. I personally learned a lot and the author’s storytelling was descriptive, making it feel like I was right there with each character. While both characters are set nearly 30 years apart, there is a common thread between them both. Not only are they related (uncle and nephew - which took me a minute to realize), they both denounce the blatant disregard and racism and believe in radical change with action. I loved the fact that they both were young heroes willing to take risks and use their voice for change despite the consequences that came.
I’m glad this book found me and it has generated my interest in researching more about this time period (March on Washington, The Big Six, Million Man March, the juxtaposition view of MLK Jr. and Malcom X, student protests, etc). I also appreciated the reference guide in the back with acronyms, links, and updates regarding the real events at this time. This is a historical fiction book, however it is clear that the author intends to educate and allow for this text to serve as a starting guide and reference point.
I’m glad this book found me and it has generated my interest in researching more about this time period (March on Washington, The Big Six, Million Man March, the juxtaposition view of MLK Jr. and Malcom X, student protests, etc). I also appreciated the reference guide in the back with acronyms, links, and updates regarding the real events at this time. This is a historical fiction book, however it is clear that the author intends to educate and allow for this text to serve as a starting guide and reference point.
July 18, 2023
All You Have to Do follows two young Black men: Kevin, a student at the University of Columbia in the 1960s protesting the expansion of the Columbia campus at the expense of the residents of Harlem, and Gibran, his nephew in the 1990s as he tries to get permission for himself and the other Black boys at his majority white prep school to attend the Million Man March. Both navigate racism both in the education system and America at large and struggle with striking a balance between their commitment to resistance and social/political change, maintaining their relationships with their families and communities, and accepting their own needs and limitations. The narrative brought in a lot of nuance regarding different ways of approaching this conflict both from the main characters and many of the side characters. It demonstrated how socioeconomic status, gender, past, etc. impact how a person can fight injustice and what they stand to lose and how long-term social movements need people who can find a balance instead of burning out.
One aspect that was especially well done was the strong sense of history throughout. Both in its grounding in real historical events and also the family history shared by Kevin and Gibran. Their parents', grandparents', and siblings' pasts and experiences weave together shaping and being shaped by those of the main characters.
One aspect that was especially well done was the strong sense of history throughout. Both in its grounding in real historical events and also the family history shared by Kevin and Gibran. Their parents', grandparents', and siblings' pasts and experiences weave together shaping and being shaped by those of the main characters.
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