I am a sucker for a powerful, expertly-written novel that explores the struggles of other cultures. These books are the gateway to understanding the strife of minorities so it’s very important that I read them, especially as a white person. Faber tend to publish thought-provoking literary novels, so I had a good idea of what to expect from this one.

Primarily set in contemporary LA, Your House Will Pay follows Shawn Matthews, an African-American who lost his sister in a tragic shooting decades earlier and Grace Park, a Korean-American whose family has been torn apart by an incident that she knows very little about. When violence rears its ugly head again, both of them are forced to confront the shocking past they didn’t know they shared.

As you might expect from a book that deals with subject matter as heavy as racial violence, there is an overwhelming dark cloud that really makes itself known in every chapter. The Matthews family are still reeling from the loss of beautiful, talented Ava after almost 30 years -a pain that never completely fades. On top of this, Shawn is trying to raise a young family while worrying that his recently released ex-convict cousin Ray will struggle to adjust to life on the outside. The amount of pressure Shawn finds himself under threatens to crush him and my heart went out to him for the entirety of the narrative. His chapters are littered with tear-jerking sentences that bring home the unimaginable loss that the family have suffered. Be warned that you are very likely to cry and get angry!

Despite being an ethnic minority, Grace has lived such a sheltered life that racial injustice isn’t a conscious part of her life. She feels so removed from the hate crimes that happen in her very neighbourhood that she reads somewhat like a white person. Her ignorance may be frustrating to some readers but I could see and relate to the conflict she deals with, when her family’s secret emerges. It ends up being the trigger for her re-education and opens her eyes to reality.

The book seems to enjoy playing with its reader’s prejudices and challenging loyalties. Much like the Park sisters, I was torn between which family was further in the right than the other. In the end, I realised that I wasn’t meant to take sides. I was just supposed to understand that both parties believed themselves justified in their actions and that they were each simply trying to protect themselves, their livelihoods and their families.

Your House Will Pay paints a searing portrait of the senseless violence, racism and outrageous injustice that haunted LA in the early 90s and is still ever present in Trump’s dysfunctional America. It’s a difficult read and yet it manages to be a page-turner with a message that resonates long after you’ve finished it. Cha is a remarkably exciting voice in the world of contemporary literary fiction and I can’t wait to see what she brings next.

A Korean shopkeeper, Yvonne, gets shot as she locks up the shop one evening. As she lies critically injured in the hospital, her daughter Grace discovers that, far from being an innocent victim, Yvonne had been responsible for shooting a teenager in her store. As Grace delves deeper, she realises that she doesn’t really know her mother at all. And how are the two shootings connected?

Your House Will Pay is an interesting look at the interracial tensions in Los Angeles and the riots of the early 90s. The fact that it’s based on a real incident makes it all the more gripping. In amongst all the lies, secrets and hidden pasts, it all comes down to two questions - who is innocent and is revenge ever justified, even when the justice system fails?

A well written story with a difficult subject matter sensitively told.

A really interesting emotional read. I was gripped by the events and the pain in the characters lives. This is a harrowing and heartbreaking read in places. It will stay in my head for some time.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book, a ARC from NetGalley, reminded me of the issues researched and discussed whilst studying sociology and psychology. The time line moves between the events surrounding a true incident from 1991 when a young black girl was killed by a Korean store owner in LA and 2019 when the two families involved are once again facing the damage done to not only the chief protagonists but the wider extended family and siblings ricocheting down the years where no one has emerged unscathed. Divided families, divided communities and divided races with simmering anger and resentment echoes through the story as not only a snapshot of the past but a suggestion that under the surface little has changed. Simmering resentment festers. Inequality breeds the foundation for a them and us culture ultimately leading to crime, broken families and absence of hope in the future. Not easy reading however a valuable and well written story from the perspective of both families of how the handling of an incident can make huge waves down the generations and shape the lives of individuals and communities for many years.

This was something slightly different to what I normally read but having read the synopsis and having heard good things I was intrigued.
It is based on true events and is by no means an easy read as the topics covered can be very delicate , racism, politics, grief, but these are handled so well in the book. It is told from two different perspectives, the brother of the murder victim and the daughter of the murderer and I found both sides very gripping and readable. I think this will be a book which is talked about for a long time and its an education as well as a novel.
Thank you netgalley for this advanced copy.

I recieved a free copy of this book through netgalley and now I'm leaving an honest and voluntary review.

This book surprised me with the subject matter it has racism and gang fights and murders. 

It gripped me room start to finish. The characters in this are likeable. 

It's based on an actual murder of a teenage girl called latasha. 

Recommend this book

This book is a delve into not only Racism but how the Los Angeles riots in America caused so many problems for so many families living there during this time and the long term effects it can have on the families growing up during the troubles .
A family living with the pain of losing a young relative but finally getting their lives on track
A new incident suddenly has the wounds reopened all over again but who is looking for revenge?

A story of what can happen whne you take a split second decision and the after effects of that decision, dealing with at racism and trauma this book has a unique and fascinating story to tell AND it tells it well, really well
I would definitely read more from this author

This is a stunning portrayal of a very real issue in today’s America and it captures the emotional resonance of racist violence in a harrowing and undeniably stark way. Fictionalising a true event - the murder of a fifteen year old black girl in the early nineties - this is a careful yet haunting piece of work and will likely stay with me for some time to come. With a fully realised cast of characters, this is a tale told from two opposite perspectives on what can only be called a violent tragedy.

On the one hand you follow Shawn, brother to the murdered girl. On the other you follow the daughter of the murderer, someone who had no idea her mother was capable of such a heinous act until it all comes out following the second shooting. Grace is witness to the horror as her mother is shot in broad daylight outside the pharmacy that they have worked for so long and truths long buried are forced to the surface. The two families are hammered together once more in the wake of this new shocking violent act and old tensions are brought to the fore.

Cha expertly weaves these two narratives together, managing to capture the atmosphere and the tensions of two different timelines perfectly. In a world where black boys are shot for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, there is raw anger here but there is also compassion, understanding and forgiveness. This is a novel that captures both the minutiae and the whole; focussing on family and yet in the same breath offering a portrait of the political and overall landscape. And it does it beautifully.

I was left breathless at some of the moments captured here; the sheer raw emotion and brutal unveiling of injustice is notable. I unravelled the real culprit well before the novel offered this information, but that didn’t mar my engagement with the tale that came out. It’s a stunning offering and one that will both challenge and engage.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advanced reader copy of this novel.

A very heart breaking & shocking story to read. Based on a true story of a young girl shot in the head because a woman thought she was stealing from her shop. Back when there were troubles with the black, white, Korean etc community. I cant imagine the life they had to go through or the trouble that they all faced. This story definitely made it hit home and it was well written. A story I knew was going to touch my heart. I will be reading up on this true story thanks to this book

Powerful novel based on real events I recall living through, the complex tensions between Korean community and black community in LA is set out with sympathy and awareness of complexities. A rehabilitated member of black family tries to figure out ways forward in next generation .. it was his favourite sister who got shot; and Korean family still live with impact on their own family of killer's crime. Although its worthiness slightly made reading experience muted, I think it's a solution to what might have been an over wrought prose style otherwise .. but it was finally deeply absorbing.

A story of a split-second decision between gangs. And the aftermath of that. I really liked this as you could tell it was based on fact. Scary at times (do you know what your kids are up to really?) and poignant at many points. Absolutely loved this. 5/5 on goodreads and Amazon and will be looking for more by author.

A really great story, keeps.you enthralled with some fab twists that you don't see coming. Hard to put down

I was sent this book by netgallery so I could give it an honest review before publication.
After seeing another positive review I bump it up my to read pile.
I loved the front cover, it was what drew me to the book. Without reading the blurb I assumed it would be a ‘standard crime drama, easy read’ I was wrong! It was much more than that. The book focused on racism, social backgrounds, family and forgiveness.

The characters are all strong in their own individual ways, easy to connect with along with the story line itself.

Flicking between 1991 and 2019 - past and present, This book is very relevant, well written and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

I would definitely pick up another Steph Cha book!

An interesting and gripping story, but ultimately I found it hard to get completely engrossed in it, probably because as a British person I found it hard to relate to. Still definitely worth reading though.

This was a very interesting book as it’s based on a real true story. I enjoyed the pov of each main character as they have different versions and visions for the world and how their perceptions of the human races can change over the years .
It’s definitely a great book to read and recommend.

Shawn has mended his life after running with gangs and being in prison, but has never got over the death of his sister Ava who was shot by a Korean shop keeper who suspected her of shoplifting, back in the days of the L.A. riots. Grace, a pharmacist, is the daughter of the shop keeper. She was never told about the murder which happened before she was born. Their lives are about to cross in a tale revealing tensions between different ethnic minorities which will probably be unfamiliar to U.K. readers.

This is a special book, one that you will keep thinking back to after you have long finished it. It is an elevated form of a crime fiction novel, one that is also a social commentary of the times that we live in. This is one of the best books which I have read this year.

The narrative is divided by two different perspectives - Shawn, the brother of the victim, and Grace the daughter of the killer. Each character has their version of the racial divides in this unique set of circumstances. The characters that Steph has created are nuanced and authentic. Each and every character are fully formed in your mind as you are reading the book, something which makes the story more impactful in my humble opinion.

This is an incredibly powerful book. At times it leaves you speechless and is a great commentary on the racial divides which still permeate society today. This book has stayed with me ever since I read it, one of the reasons it has taken me so long to complete this review as I don’t think I can do it justice.

I chose to read this title because it was not something I would normally chose to pick up. Coming from a white English middle-class background, I wanted to put myself into a place and scenario that I was completely unfamiliar with. This was also part of the problem for me, however, as I couldn't connect or empathise with the main characters.The characters were well drawn and very believable, however.
As the book is based on a true event, I think the author has done very well to represent both the personal and moral conflicts as well as the wider social issues and tensions amongst different cultural groups in L.A. I am all too aware from online videos of the prejudice and shocking injustice that the black community has to live with day to day, where you are seen as guilty of crime just because of the colour of your skin.
The importance of family and its bonds came across strongly but also the strength to forgive and the need to cross those cultural divides: to make bridges so that understanding and progress can take place.

Your House Will Pay is a gripping read that breaks your heart whilst raising lots of questions. There are no simple answers and family members can prove as destructive as outsiders (often inadvertently). I really did not want this book to end and some weeks on am still wondering what might have happened to the characters and communities. Thank you to Steph Cha for a beautifully written and thought provoking book and to Faber and Netgalley for providing me with this free ARC.