I usually hate do this. It really hurts me to bash a book so I am going to try really hard not to. It’s a big accomplishment to create and sit down and actually write a book. So big props to the author.

First I want to say that this entire book seemed like a cluster of craziness. Just one event after another. The positive is it made it fast-paced but the pacing was off and it was rushed and at times just incoherent.

I realllllly hated Lena. I hated her POV. As a WOC I tend to look for other WOC in books but I always feel like when authors do black women their voice is always so stereotypical. “For example “I followed the uniforms in the crowd.” Really??? “Girl, they fightin’” I have never actually heard a black woman speak like this outside of a reality tv show or “ratchet tv.”

Id like to end this review on a positive note so I’m going to reach here and say that the moral of the story is that we need to stick together to overcome the obstacles life throws at us. No matter what the color of our skin is, if we stick together we can make it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a digital ARC of this book to read in exchange for an honest review

This book was absolutely heart wrenching and so sweet! Really great educational book for my students without being too adult.

The dual POV's was handled really well. A good look at the world today through different lenses. I think some of the scenes were a bit over the top, but overall the story was well-written and well-handled.

This was a short quick read. It all happens over the span of one night. It is a young adult contemporary about two girls who spend the night trying to survive after a riot breaks out at a school football game. They are complete strangers yet possibly friends at the end. The chapters alternate between the two girls throughout the book. Over all this wasn't a bad book. I wish it would have been a little bit longer though. The ending felt like it was lacking. I did enjoy the different world views you get from each of the girls. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

I’m Not Dying with You Tonight is a young adult contemporary read about two girls Lena and Campbell who are brought together when a race fueled fight breaks out at a high school football game. The dual POV perspective showed just how strong these individuals are during the trying times and the riot scenes were quite graphic I could paint a picture so vividly in my head. This is a very compelling read, strong characterization but my only complaint is that I wish it didn’t end rather abruptly.

A good concept that could have been a little better executed. The ending fell a bit flat for me and could probably have used a bit more to it so it didn't feel quite as abrupt as it did. Overall, the dual point of views worked well even though it could be a bit predictable.

This was an engaging look at a challenging issue from two angles. In doing something similar to <I>All-American Boys</I>, both characters feel very authentic. This book doesn't settle for easy answers.

Two very different high schools girls must work together to escape one Friday night of violence and riots in their town. Like Lena and Campbell, the authors are African American and Caucasian, and tell the story from each point of view. Throughout the night, the girls discover their similarities and strengths despite their different backgrounds. I would recommend this book for a YA book club. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!

Lena and Campbell Soup are double trouble!


If I understand where the author was trying to go with this book it was a great concept. However, I think it could've been executed better. I feel like this book was all over the place. Some of the scenes were just too unbelievable for me to digest. Lena and Campbell Soup's relationship seemed unrealistic at times. I liked how they stood up for each other when needed.

I'd like to thank Sourcebook Fire for the opportunity to read this title.

Apologies for the delay, we did end up purchasing this one, and I felt the story offered a new perspective on recent political events that would be helpful to teenagers.

I'm Not Dying with You Tonight is an exceptional novel demonstrating how relationships and bonding can occur anywhere with anyone regardless of race or background. It was nervewrecking and difficult to put down as Lena and Campbell struggled to survive among the dangers the night presented. It reminded me how we are all God's children.

I loved the dynamic of the two main characters in this book. They were virtual strangers before this one night and then were together in some very intense situations. I love the two perspectives and couldn't stop reading. I had to know what happened next. I do wish I knew more about where their lives took them after this one night.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the free book.
This book jumps into the action from the very beginning and doesn't stop until the end. It's a story about two young women who are thrown together by circumstance at a high school football game. Lena and Campbell are nothing alike, yet they must learn to trust each other quickly to survive the night in their town. I liked how riveting and thought provoking this book is. I think it would be a great one to read with a group of high schoolers and have open, moderated discussions about. There are lots of stereotypes and racist thoughts addressed head on, and I liked how the authors were able to illustrate different ideas with the plot events. There was a decent amount of character development for Campbell. I wished there was a bit more for Lena, but I wasn't unsatisfied, either, because this is a heavily plot driven novel. It's easy to binge in a day.

From the Publisher:
Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.

They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they're going to survive the night.

This book is perfect for:

Sparking conversations about prejudice and the racial tension that exists in America
Parents and educators looking for multicultural and African American books for teens
Fans of Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, and Jason Reynolds
My Thoughts:
This YA book is a co-written product from two female authors: Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal. It is about one chaotic night and two girls from very different backgrounds trying to survive while also facing very in your face scenarios that bring forward race relations, privilege, stereotypes and trauma.

I like that the two authors were able to switch characters from one chapter to another and therefore bring their individual voice to the characters, but just like the awkward first day in a new school, I found the beginning of the book until the booth fight a bit stilted and awkward for both characters. Perhaps Lena and Campbell needed to play into cultural stereotypes first so that the rest of the night could show their own growth and awakening. Although I was going to abandon this book, once the need to escape school started, the story sucked me in quickly.

I think this is another option to sit on the classroom bookshelf along with The Hate U Give, Dear Martin, and Long Way Down (in order: Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, Jason Reynolds). Another urban African American experience writer: Nikki Grimes, Between the Lines.

This was a quick, impactful read about 2 high school students finding friendship at the height of danger. I appreciated the different perspectives provided on racial issues and the way the authors handled things like challenging the common white perspective. This is a very thought-provoking piece on a movement that gained so much attention over the last year and helped me to dig deeper into my own thoughts on the subject. While I enjoyed the story and plot, I felt the short length of the book didn't give much room for real character development, so it was hard to strongly relate to the characters before it was over, I think this could have been stretched into a full-length novel and easily been a fantastic read.

Two teens--one Black and one white--rely on one another despite their mutual animosity when a shooting and a riot threaten their lives.

I liked the concept of this book a lot. The dual perspective was well done, and it gave this situation a more nuanced feels. I actually would have liked this book to be a bit longer. The ending felt a bit abrupt.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that it was told through two different point of views. I think the fact that it was written by two authors helped the voices of the characters sound different. This was a tense book all the way through so it never got dull.

4 1/2

Far too often lately I’ve felt like I’ve read prescient books, or perhaps that I’ve not been paying closer attention to past events. Both may be true, I am more than willing to concede.

I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal is a powerful, unrelenting book that is as much a page turner as it is a force-of-nature.

Lena is a popular girl but puts all of her faith in her boyfriend, “Black”, who sometimes doesn’t answer her texts or isn’t there when she needs him. Campbell has just moved from her private school to this new town for her senior year after her mother gets a job in South America and can’t take her with her and is just trying to blend in. She and her father are just trying to make ends meet.

Where Lena is street-wise and knowing, Campbell is naive, used to a safe space. Lena believes that Campbell has everything going for her, Campbell knows that’s not true. During the course of a very harsh night, both girls learn a lot about each other, realizing that the knowledge they possess about each other before is wrong, very wrong.

When I say that this book is unrelenting, I mean it. Never does it let up. A few scenes in and you just need to buckle up and hang on. Even when you think things are about to let up and the girls are safe and sound, you’re wrong.

The girls irritate each other at times, frequently, but they come to have a better understanding of each other, and may even grow as close as people can be through the difficulties they encounter. They accept and even defend each other even though before this night they would probably have never even contemplated friendship. They see their own preconceptions, their misuse of words, their misconceptions.

I liked how this novel was told from both points-of-view and in two different voices. The voices sounded realistic to me. The ideas felt real. I felt like Lena and Campbell were presenting their worlds very realistically and that I could feel their realities. I also felt that their sharing was real.

I did feel that maybe the novel ran a bit long, that at one point I reached saturation, but maybe that was intentional. Maybe we all need to feel a beyond-saturation point in order to fully comprehend this experience. Maybe we need to go that extra bit just to *feel* in a world that has become so inured to the suffering of people, our neighbors, friends. If that was indeed the point, I got it. I feel. Definitely.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful and heartbreaking story about violence and race. I'm glad I read this book even though some parts were hard to get through.