Title: The Black Kids
Author: Christina Hammonds Reed
Genre: Historical Fiction YA
Format: E-Book
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s UK
Publication Date: 4th August 2020
My Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Goodreads | Storygraph
Synopsis:
Los Angeles, 1992
Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of high school and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.
But everything changes one afternoon in April, when four police officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.
As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family façade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.
My Review:
The Black Kids is a coming of age story set in the midst of the 1992 LA riots. The story follows Ashley, as she deals with college applications, friendships, family and finding who she is in the world.
The writing was lyrical and drew me into the narrative. The pages tackle systematic racism and privilege. I didn’t know anything about the riots in 1992 and this novel drew my attention to it.
One of my main issues was that I couldn’t connect to Ashley. She was an observer, stating facts about what was happening but not really being involved in them. I also did not like her friends, Courtney, Kimberley, and Heather. On the flip side, I did like LaShawn, and I enjoyed the story more when he showed up. I would’ve been interested in reading a story from his perspective.
The characters were realistic and whilst I struggled to connect to them, I enjoyed the story, and this was definitely one driven by its characters. This story doesn’t shy away from addressing some tough topics, and I highly recommend the novel.
