I will blame my age for how long it took me to start being able to fully understand some of the slang used, especially at the beginning of the book. Either I got used to it or it lessened. But maybe that is the biggest clue that this will do well with the YA audience. This is the story of a forced sisterhood in the face of horrific events. Some of the young women's actions seemed implausible; however, intense stress can warp a point of view. And while I understand the authors wanted to present a small window into a specific evening, I wish I had gotten to know the main characters better. Sure we see how they bond and begin to see each other in a better light, but who are they to begin with? As a study of characters facing adverse conditions, this did not deliver. As a story of two young women becoming unlikely allies, it succeeded.

A fast read with a lot of suspense. The plot is fast paced and hits on some major social issues that are extremely relevant today. I enjoyed the writing. The book was a great topic and has engaging characters.

This book was a solid, enjoyable story if somewhat predictable. It kept me interested until the end.

3]
I would not say I enjoyed this book, but at the same time, I did not not enjoy it. The book honestly made no sense, but I found that it was really easier to read,d and I did want to continue reading it. There is no plot, AT ALL. I thought the last book I had read had no plot, but compared to this one, it had the most intricate storyline ever. The characters were also, meh. All they do is drink, the entire time, and talk about nonsense. But I never found myself not liking the book, which is weird, but probably has to do with how short the book is since it wasn't long enough to make me feel like I was wasting my time.
Also after looking at other reviews, there seems to be a consensus that you should not start with this as your first Murakami book, which is exactly what I did so. (less) [edit]

Do you like YA? If you answered yes, you will like "I'm Not Dying with You Tonight." If you answered no, you will also like "I'm Not Dying with You Tonight." The happenings are common occurrences for today's youth, more common than we all hope. The incidents will keep you thinking long after you've put down the book.

I Am Not Dying With You Tonight
By: Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones
This story centers around two high school girls with very different backgrounds ., one is white and the other black, who find themselves forced to work together in order to seek safety from a fight that has escalated into a full on riot. The story is told in the perspectives of both girls and the reader gets to see the story develop with two very different voices. This novel reminded me of The Hate You Give, it dealt with racial tension, prejudices, and stereotypes. This was a very interesting and fast read, the characters’ voices were unique and relatable to the events we see today. I highly recommend people to read this book and to discuss it with other people.
Thank You to NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel for an honest review

While I wasn’t in love with this book, I can appreciate it for what it represents. The dual POV really made it even better to get a full grasp of the situation. I wasn’t fully sold on the characters separately but I did like the way that they came together. This book covers racism, school shootings, and also police brutality. I do hope that this book will find a way into a lot of teenager’s hands and they can learn something from it.

Honestly, I just couldn't get into this title. I could barely get past the first chapter before I was bored. Sorry. Just not a good fit for me, although the premise is interesting, I just couldn't get through it.

I received a copy of I’M NOT DYING WITH YOU TONIGHT from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the author and publisher.

FIVE STARS and here’s why:

This book really opened my eyes to the world of racism. Not only is this a story grounded in realism, which I appreciate immensely, it helped me understand what it is like to be on the receiving end of racism just because you are born into a family or a situation in which you may not be as lucky as the person next to you. There are no guarantees in life; there’s only hope. Jones and Segal take two teen girls, throw them into a typical YA Friday Night Lights, and then let all hell break loose. Whiplash! We learn that no one should assume anything at face value, and that no one is safe from prejudice or misunderstanding or judgment. All that glitters is never just gold. Each character is well written, the dialogue realistic, and the plot kept me up all night to learn what happens next. Highly recommend this story as required reading in schools.

It's a good concept but too short? Because so much chaos happens it doesn't leave much for character growth, especially because the two girls don't know each other, and the ending comes pretty abruptly. Not bad, but needed more. I can see it working really well in a school setting.

This is a book I immediately knew I wanted to read from the intriguing cover to the blurb. I'm always fascinated with books that take place over a short period of time. And I love co-written books.

At the beginning/first half of the book I wasn't so keen on this, honestly. It took me a while to start liking both of the main characters. They both have SO much personality and backstory packed into a pretty short book, it's quite incredible. I slightly preferred Lena, but I was frustrated with her undying devotion to her jerk of a boyfriend. And Campbell was overly naive sometimes...but that was the point. It was really valuable to see them misunderstanding each other and then reevaluating their assumptions. Because both of them had assumptions.

It was a hard book to read, really. There's a lot of dark subject matter, and it's hard to think about. I'm definitely Campbell in this story, so it was really good for me to step into somebody else's position while reading. I think this is a SUPER important book and one I hope a lot of readers will pick up. I know I'll be thinking about it for a while.

TW: racism, police, riots with lots of violence, some unwanted sexual comments directed at a female character

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was so awesome! I really enjoyed reading about these two girls as they tried to survive while there was a riot going on around them. And they were totally different, Lena is bold and knows what to expect from racists. Campbell is a bit naive, because she's new to the area. They had totally different styles of thinking and speaking, and it was really easy to go back and forth between their narrations!

This book is a pretty quick read. There were only 160 ebook pages, so I just flew right through reading them! And it's so fast paced, from the start of the riot at the school, to getting out, to the bigger riot in their neighborhood. It was one thing after another!

These girls hardly knew each other before this night. Campbell was a bit intimidated by Lena, and Lena was a bit irritated by Campbell. But they got each other though this situation, and I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow!

I do kinda wish that we'd have more book, more time after they got home and to deal with the aftermath. I mean, it was pretty intense, there were times where they were in danger. And they had to decompress, and deal with the fact that they'd had these experiences.

Yeah, really enjoyed this book, it was a fantastic read!

I’m Not Dying With You Tonight is a YA novel featuring two young high school students. Campbell is white and Lena is black. While they do not know each other, they are thrown together for a wild night after a local football game turns violent and the two girls find themselves depending on each other for better or worse and the twisted events of the night give them some understanding of the racial divides that keep them apart as well as what they didn’t know they had in common. YA novels that feature morals and hidden messaging about issues that are relevant in today’s society always serve a benefit for the reader regardless of age since it gives us a variety of perspectives on things that we may or may not have experience with. Both Lena and Campbell feel like real people that anyone of us could possibly know. They may be slightly stereotypical in this case, but that fits in with the story that is being told. In an age racial divides and violence perpetrated on minorities by police this story provides a unique insider view as seen from both sides of the racial divide. I found the story both compelling and interesting. A worthwhile choice for a quick afternoon read.

I just finished I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones and was pleasantly surprised with the book. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this book was something entirely different from any expectations I may have had. Part way through the book though, I could see some similarities with another YA book, The Hate U Give. I'm Not Dying With You Tonight was, for me, a much more satisfying and worthwhile book on a similar topic. Segal and Jones were able to write this story about a sensitive topic and leave the readers with hope. In The Hate U Give, I constantly felt a backwash of racial discrimination like acid ready to bubble up against the people formerly guilty of being the ones discriminating.The Hate U Give just seemed to want to point fingers and spit at any white thing rather it was guilty or not. I'm Not Dying With You Tonight brings together different cultures in a way that ends up being accepting and familiar without the weight of history making blinders to cover the way we see people. I'm Not Dying With You Tonight is a book I didn't want to end because I wanted to know what happens next. What kind of relationships can be built from that trauma? There is hope and I loved that about the book. Not a hope of one side forcing itself on the other, but a hope of coming together and caring about one another in a way that is accepting and real.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, but what I got was so much more than I had hoped.

I didn’t love this book because it was fun and enjoyable. I love this book because it is a perfect description of the world we live in now. Lena and Campbell could not be more different, but Jones and Segal showed people from two different sides of the tracks, or so they thought, and how you can think you know someone’s situation so much, yet really know nothing about them. It’s easy to make assumptions about people and that is exactly what Lena and Campbell do in this instance. We got a glimpse of how Black Lives Matter has brought racial issues to light and how in some places the police don’t always feel like the helpful heroes they are suppose to be.

While I probably compare more with Campbell, I really loved Lena’s personality. She was so in your face and confident, but we saw glimpses of her being scared or unsure as well. I also love the story of Black and how you expect people to let you down sometimes and then they just come through and surprise you.

There were so many great lessons in this book, and not only the obvious one about not judging people by the covers. We learned how something that seems so innocent can come off as racially charged in the world we live in today. I love how these two different personalities came together and, in my opinion, could be friends in the end. Such a fantastic story to bridge the divide we are facing in our own world.

Jones and Segal did a fantastic job writing this book and showing the reality of both sides and how different we may see things based on where we grow up and the environment we are surrounded by. I think in our current world, everyone should be required to read a book like this to gain perspective. Hats off to the authors for taking on a hard hitting, taboo subject that most shy away from and turning it into a riveting story of growth, survival, and coming of age.

This book shows the journey of two girls, one is white, Campbell and one is black, Lena. It is based in Atlanta and being that Lena, was born and raised in the streets of Atlanta and Campbell just moved into the hood. The pair of them get swept up into the same kind of chaos we all have to deal with in our everyday lives now. The world we live in now is mostly about choosing a side; white or black, republican or democratic, conservative or liberal. I found that this beautifully written stories explores the complexities of "choosing a side". We as people are far more complex than being one or the other.

I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones follows the incredible story of two very different girls as they traverse an intense night starting with a fight at a school basketball game and culminating in a protest turned riot, as they try to make their way home and to the people and places they care about. I was provided a copy of I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Sourcebooks in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I’m Not Dying with You Tonight is another incredible installment from Sourcebooks in the YA genre in addressing bigger than the usual topics, covering from the big to the small, Segal and Jones look from race relations in the south to the sheltered understanding that people in more predominantly white areas have versus people in more urban settings, as well as the basics of being a teenager and finding your way in life, all within the span of a single night.
Lena and Campbell are very different people, so very different that they don’t think or speak in remotely the same styles, instead matching as they would their sociological sphere. Even more so, and this garners my respect, Segal and Jones didn’t bother to make Lena code switch, instead she stays continuously, and with great personal strength, herself. Segal and Jones did an excellent job of capturing the duality of following Lena and Campbell and their differences, while still capturing the things that make two teenage girls the same. While their goals and needs are different, they work together to support each other and meet those goals. Both girls learn and grow throughout the night and become better people for it.
Specifically, I have to say that I appreciate that Segal and Jones found a good way to explain the conceptual understanding of moving from an area like Haverford (a place that is very very white) to Atlanta without making excuses for Campbell. Campbell isn’t a racist, she’s just as disgusted by the confederate flag and the anti-protestors as she is by the looters, however, Segal and Jones don’t shy away from the privilege of being a white girl in situations like the ones Lena and Campbell face. There’s no hiding that Campbell has her internal prejudices that society as a whole creates. The concept of ghetto and hood and fear of an unknown black man are concepts that Campbell must learn to overcome and see for what they truly are.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed I’m Not Dying with You Tonight. It was a very quick read, but the social intelligence with which Segal and Jones approached Lena and Campbell opened up a world. While we were only given one night in their lives, we can see the potential, the splinters of the kinds of people they could become someday. I look forward to seeing more from both writers, and would be extra excited to see another collaboration.

This review will be posted to Commute Reads and GoodReads on August 27th. NetGalley will be updated with those links once they are available.

Campbell isn't having a great senior year. Her mom took a job in Venezuela, leaving her to live with the dad she barely knows in a new city. She's at a new high school where she doesn't know anyone, and she can't even run her beloved track anymore. One of her teachers convinces her to work the concession stand at the football game, so she's spending her Friday night handing out hot dogs and counting change. Lena, on the other hand, is a popular fashionista with an older musician boyfriend. She's confident and tough, and she doesn't take crap from anyone. She's at the football game cheering on a friend on the dance team and goes to get a drink from the concession stand. But then fighting breaks out and someone starts shooting. Lena and Campbell, two girls with seemingly nothing in common, are thrown together as the world around them goes crazy. Can they get over their obvious differences to help each other survive the night?

There's a lot to like about this book. It's told in alternative POVs, with a different author voicing each of the two main characters. Their voices are very distinctive but also manage to complement each other and show just how much these girls have in common, despite seeming so different at first glance. I love how well the girls, virtual strangers, take care of each other and help each other through such a traumatic experience. They're able to put aside their differences when it really matters, though they learn from those differences all night long. I'm glad books like this are being written to highlight racial tensions and white privilege and the dramatically varied experiences of white and black teenagers in our country.

Having said that, I wanted more here. It was very choppy and lacked flow. The end is so sudden and abrupt, and there's no look at tomorrow for these girls and where they go from here. It's not like I was expecting them to suddenly be best friends forever, but it would have been nice to get a look at their lives after that night. Also, there are a lot of holes that are never addressed, and I was left with a lot of questions. Maybe these are issues that will be resolved before the final copy of the book is published, but as it is, the book felt incomplete with a tacked on ending.

I loved the approach here, though, and I think it's an important addition to YA literature.

**Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

I enjoyed what the book was trying to do but I thought the characters were more caricatures of real people. They were so stereotypical that at times it was comical. I will read more from these authors but I didn't love this book.

Two: Race and Police sparked Violence

While this isn’t my new favorite book on this subject. I do think it has merit and takes a new look at this subject. Having two different authors and two different narrators made living through this experience interesting. Having the two girls come from different backgrounds and being two different races made it very interesting and gave great commentary on how people experience the same event in very different ways.

</i>**I was sent an e-arc copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my rating or review. </i>