A Black high school senior must make many decisions, including her close relationship with White classmates and distant relations with Black classmates, reactions to violence by Blacks and White police after the Rodney King beating in the 1990’s.

Gr 9 Up—Los Angeles, 1992: While the city is consumed with protests after the beating of Rodney King, wealthy
Black high school senior Ashley contemplates her own perceptions of her race and those of her classmates as she
attends a predominantly white school—a realistic journey to action filled with detours and new discoveries. This is a
nuanced and authentic coming-of-age story with pitch-perfect historical details and timeless themes.

This book is so good and engaging, I was completely hooked from the first page. The narrator’s voice is so realistic, and her story feels both very relatable but also uniquely her own. The story is set in California in the 1990s. I guess some people are calling that historical fiction now, which blows my mind, but whether you want to call it historical fiction or not, this story will feel very familiar to people living in the United States in 2020 as protests against racism and police brutality are happening around the country. I highly recommend this book to teenage readers. ( )

Definitely relevant for today’s readers. Made me think back to that horrible time and realize nothing has truly changed. Read this in one sitting. This would be a great book for teaching in history and ELA classes…a strong #ownvoices story. ( )

Relevant Then.
Relevant Now.
Relevant Forever. ( )