This book deals with modern racism in America and is an eye opener. The mystery is excellent, well paced and kept me guessing. This book is very powerful and could be considered a fictional version of Just Mercy. So many different racist issues are brought up and explained in a way that everyone can understand. This is an important book that should be read and shared.

This book should be required reading as should the list of additional resources. It is a YA book that does not pull punches in it's honesty. The protagonist, Tracy Beaumont, is trying to get an appeal for her father who is on death row for murders he did not commit. His conviction mirrors so many real life convictions where the facts do not matter but the color of skin did,. As she fights for her father (while sending regular letters to Innocence X to try to get them to take her father's appeal), additional factors come into play for the family she holds so dear. They may help free her father or they may destroy her whole family. This book gutted me in ways few books can. I highly suggest you add to your TBR along with Kleenex and plans to take your anger from the facts of the book into action.

Still gathering my thoughts about this book, but it is an important one to read. The story follows the narrative of a young women Tracy trying to get her father's case retried. As the days to his execution day draws near, Tracy becomes even more vocal about getting her father's case heard. Kim Johnson provides a gripping story, that takes several devastating turns that actually happen in real life. Johnson provides readers a glimpse of what it is like to battle a criminal justice system that is not fair to everyone. An incredibly powerful story that I will purchase myself, and will advocate readers to read, learn, and talk about.

This book came right on time given that white America just discovered (yet again) that racism didn’t go away after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have A Dream Speech the same decade my parents were born. My mind is STILL reeling wowowowowow. I loved every. single. page.

Without giving anything away, Tracy is a rising senior who works for her school’s newspaper (ya’ll her section is called Tracy’s Corner & I just found it too cute bc Cam’s Corner🥺). Her father is falsely accused of a double murder & is sentenced to death. When you think it can’t get any worse, her big brother Jamal is accused of murder & goes on the run😩

This book high key turns into a murder-mystery! Every other chapter clues become uncovered & you go “nooo!!” & THEN YOU GET A NEW PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT MAKES YOU GO “OHHHH MY GODDDDD!” & the climax?? CHILEEEEEE. I did not expect that at all. or should I have?👀 That’s for you to decide.


Get this book, not only for yourself but also for an ally who wants to know what it’s like to be Black in America. I laughed, I cried, I fought some of these characters in my head… This author drops NOTHING BUT FACTS & STATISTICS THAT HAD ME CLAPPING👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 It won’t surprise me at all when this ends up being a best seller.

Part mystery, part legal drama, part look at racial injustice in America, THIS IS MY AMERICA is a gripping and compelling new YA novel. Johnson has laid out an all too familiar tale of Black men in America being accused and convicted of crimes they didn't commit and the people who are left to pick up the pieces, or to try and find justice. I really loved Tracy as a protagonist, as her voice is filled with authenticity and passion. She is easy to root for, and her complexity and obsession with finding justice for her father and her brother is both very admirable, but also shows how trying that existence can be on a person so young. The mystery of who actually killed Angela was very well crafted, and I greatly enjoyed the twists and turns. Johnson also does a really good job of covering very complex and difficult topics without talking down to her audience, and provides a really thorough author's note at the end that has more resources and background when tackling racism, both societal and systemic, in America. I think that my only qualm was that there was an unnecessary love triangle, but it wasn't too distracting that I was completely taken out of the story at hand.

THIS IS MY AMERICA is very, very well done. I expect it to be the next YA sensation. It really ought to be.

This book straddles the fine line between educating and preaching. Sure Tracy forcefully tells someone when they are wrong and why and it is very obvious that Ms. Johnson has an agenda. But the manner with which it is written does not make the reader feel like they are being lectured. Additionally, the characters and (sadly) the situations feel very real. That makes this a great book to use to introduce systemic racism to young adults who might not be ready for many of the non-fiction books that are being praised. It is easy to identify with Tracy as she struggles to keep her home life in order, advocate for her father who is wrongly on death row, and continue her education, and maybe even decide which boy she likes. Think about it, most teens can reasonably succeed at only one of those things at a time. Add this to the library next to The Hate You Give and I Won't Die With You Tonight as must reads for all teens!

“I want to be angry that Jamal ran, but I can’t blame him. What else are you supposed to do when the world treats you like a monster?”

This Is My America is a book that is so relevant in today’s world and is such a heartbreaking but powerful book. This book follows Tracy as she writes letters to Innocence X once a week to help get her father off death row, which is where he has been for the past seven years. He only has a couple of months left until he will be killed for a crime he didn’t commit. While trying to do everything she can to save her father, her brother Jamal is the main suspect in a murder that happens in their little Texas town. Tracy wants to get to the bottom of what really happened the night Angela was murdered, because she knows her brother is innocent.

I truly loved the characters in this book and had so many emotions reading about them all. While Tracy was the main character, I cherished all of the characters like Jamal, Quincy, Dean, and Steve. The author does a spectacular job on showing what it is like being black in America. Not just with the justice system, but how everything is different for a black person, even walking down the street is completely different and a fearful act.

“It started a debate in history class when white kids asked why it’s not racist to say Black Lives Matter but a problem to say White Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter. What they don’t get is that those lives have always mattered. Ours is treated like we’re less than equal. Like we don’t deserve the same respect. A school shooter can come out alive but a Black kid in handcuffs on the ground can be shot, unchecked. An AK-47 in a white hand got more rights than a Black kid with Skittles.”

I can’t believe this is a debut, I flew through this book in a matter of hours. My heart was filled with sadness and rage reading this book, because this is what’s happening in America. People judge you because of the color of your skin, and even if there is no evidence that you actually did the crime if you are black you will be guilty no matter what. Our system is corrupt and police brutality is a real and true thing. I really loved how the author doesn’t sugar coat anything, while it may be rough to read people need to really read the truth about what is happening in this country. While this is considered a YA Contemporary, it is so much more than that, and if it were up to me every school would have this as a required book to read.

I challenge all of you to add this to your tbr and on July 28th when this book is published please go buy and read it. You will not regret it I promise you!

This is My America by Kim Johnson was a phenomenal read. It's odd to start with the end of the book, but I have to note that once I read the author's note I so appreciated the intentionality with which she wrote this story. Don't read this until the end and also make sure to read this when you get there, as when you do you'll understand and appreciate the story she tells so much more. So, what is that story? I'm glad you asked because I want to talk about this one! The story focuses on Tracy. Each week, Tracy writes a letter to Innocence X asking them to help her father who is on death row. Time is running out, and Tracy is doing all she can to help. Then, Tracy's brother, Jamal, is accused of killing his girlfriend. Jamal is now on the run, and Tracy wants to also do what she can to prove his innocence as well. Y'all, this was a powerful piece. It's an emotional read, but its power and impact is also in the way it explores the systemic nature of issues. It peels back the layers as Tracy does all she can to help her dad and brother and encounters obstacles, lies and hard truths. This is one I devoured both reading slowly to take the story in, while also reading in a day because I was so drawn in. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this late July release. Add this to your lists now y'all. This is one you need to read, discuss with others, and process how this shows up in real life.

I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley. This was my first work by this author and it won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My favorite character had to be tracy and even though this book was not real it dealt with real issues. It resonated more now because of the turmoil that the country is in. I would recommend anyone young and old read this book.

This is My America is a book written by Kim Johnson because it's a book she wanted to see out in the world. The more books that become available about POC for POC, the better our world is for it. The more diversity that becomes available, the less hate there will be able to be in the world. Because we will be learning to understand different perspectives, different experiences than our own.

In the same vein as Just Mercy, this book is about a man who gets sentenced to live out the rest of his life on death row, charged with murders that he didn't commit. His family has an alibi for him, but because white men have provided minimal evidence, he was charged in court. However this book's main perspective comes from Tracy Beaumont, the high school daughter of the man sentenced to live on death row. She's grown up in the last six years without her father, but she's been fighting back by writing letters every week since the arrest to a social justice group who provides free legal assistance to those in need.

Meanwhile, she starts taking the law into her own hands out of concern that the law isn't fulfilling their obligations. Law enforcement seems to be corrupt, and Tracy doesn't trust them after what happened with her father's arrest and trial. So when her brother gets accused of murdering a girl from her High School, Tracy is determined to get to the bottom of it and keep her brother from being unjustly sentenced. I was alternately fascinated with her searching and ability to uncover details that were overlooked and worried that she felt it was more safe to investigate on her own.

There were definitely some dodgy run-ins with law enforcement throughout this book that made it feel exciting. However, there were also scenes that dragged on, or felt like too much for me. There were times that I felt a bit bored. I'm not sure if it was just my timing, or if other people might feel this way whilst reading this, but as much as I wanted to fall in love with this book, something was keeping me from fully enjoying it.

Pre-order this book now.

Ask your library to buy it.

Ask your child's high school library to buy it.

If you have high school aged children or loved ones, buy them a copy. Then follow it up with a copy of Just Mercy and The Sun Does Shine.

What I'm trying to say is read it. Share it.

It will no doubt be my favorite YA book of the year.

5/5⭐️

Author Kim Johnson’s portrayal of seventeen year old Tracy Beaumont’s fight for justice is compelling. I loved Tracy’s tenacity in her pursuit to prove her father’s innocence. Tracy’s father has been in prison for seven years and will be executed unless Innocence X (an organization Tracy has been writing to) can intervene. In the midst of the family’s struggle with their father in prison, Tracy’s older brother is falsely accused of killing a fellow classmate. With Jamal on the run and the town divided on his innocence, Tracy begins to investigate what really happened the night of the murder. Johnson’s descriptive writing kept me enthralled. This is definitely a page turner, with themes of the fight for justice, racial inequities, and homage to the book Just Mercy. Having read Just Mercy, I really appreciated the inclusion of an organization that can help prove Tracy’s father’s innocence. At times, my heart dropped with the description of some of the scenes. The visits to the prison, the police entering Tracy’s home, and other strong scenes in the book are heartbreaking and a reminder of our nation’s ugly racial history. And while the ending is expected, we should remember that not all similar cases end in the same manner. I do recommend the book as a discussion piece for middle and high school classrooms.

This book WAS SOOO GOOD I gave this book 5 stars. This book was something that everyone one needs to read and educate themselves on about Black America and criminal justice system and what it does to black people and also racism especially what is going on today. This book showed that what the criminal justice system do the Black Americans who are innocent and being throw in jail for the color of their skin. It was moving, powerful and everyone should read it!!

Tracy Beaumont is on the clock. Her dad is on death row and her brother Jamal has been accused of killing a white girl. With all Tracy is facing to include going to a school where she is hated, Tracy is determined to save her dad and clear her brother’s name.
Tracy Beaumont has been writing letters faithfully to Innocence X (think Bryan Stevenson) for years trying to get them to help her father out, and for years her letters go unanswered. While her main focus is on her father, her brother Jamal (good kid with a track scholarship) is now considered a “thug” and on the run. Tracy along with her best friends begin to investigate and slowly unravel long buried secrets down in Texas.
The author does a wonderful job of incorporating real life events (fictionalized) throughout this book. I loved how the secrets slowly unraveled and just when you think you’ve figured it out, you’re hit with another shocker. By the time the book ends, you’re left with the feeling of needing more of these characters to see how their story continues to develop.
I would highly recommend this book. This book touches on the reality of what a lot of Black people and POC experience in the justice system. Regardless of your innocence you skin color automatically makes you guilty. This Is My America gives you everything you need in a book and the feeling of wanting more.

This may be a hard review to write. I have tears, but not a lot of words right now. I wish I could give this ten stars.

This Is My America felt like non fiction to me. Every single character felt real. The story is sadly too real. Not only did the book make me cry, but the author note just made me cry harder. I had so many different emotions while reading. Definitely a lot of anger. There were sad tears and happy tears. I'm just a wreck.

Tracy lives with her mom, older brother, and younger sister. Her father is in prison, set to die in less than a year. Tracy sends letters to Innocence X, trying to get them to take on her dad's case. She knows he didn't kill anyone. The person he was charged with was shot and killed in his own home while the police tried to arrest him. They shot his son, Quincy, too, and he has permanent leg damage. Jamal is a star athlete and the news is doing a story on him. Tracy decides to bring up her dad's case live on air. She can't think of anything else she can do to save her dad.

The news show didn't go well and Jamal wouldn't even talk to Tracy. Tracy is a journalist for school and she does Know Your Rights workshops. Tracy speaks with the current editor, Angela, about being editor next year. Angela tells her that she doesn't work well with others, but she wants to talk to Tracy about something she's working on. And Tracy shouldn't tell Jamal. Angela and Jamal had been secretly dating for awhile. When Angela is found dead, Jamal is the first and only suspect. His history has shown what happens and he ran. Tracy now needs to find a way to clear her brother and save her dad.

Tracy finds a secret history of the klan and current white supremacists in Galveston. She sees how much social injustice there is and how racism is still all around her.

This book focuses on so many tough topics, including racism, social injustice, bias in the justice system. It's a tough read at times, but so important right now. The author provides a lot of resources and books to read at the back of the book. I definitely plan on checking them out and finding even little ways I can help.

I obviously think this book was wonderful and a must read. Required school reading would be great. I gave this 5 stars and it will be on my top ten of the year.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

Antiracist learning in young adult fiction

'This is My America' is a title so important with current events exposing systemic racism in modern America. This young adult title covers the story of a black family whose father was wrongfully accused and imprisoned for murder to be executed. The book shows a race against time with his daughter as a protagonist, to save him from that wrongful conviction.

It reminds me of my recent read 'From the Desk of Zoe Washington' - which is a midgrade story with similar synopsis, showing how great is the issue of incarcerating innocent people of color in the United States.

More to love:
great take on biracial relationships, loyalty, friendship, and racial justice.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher Random House Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.

I think this is a powerful book and in today's climate these stories are so important. I enjoyed all the characters. My only wish is that there was a little more character development throughout the story. They all felt a bit stagnant at times.

Also, I felt there was too much going on. We have one family with two very powerful stories that sometimes gets lost with a little romance that just seemed out of place. Also, I think Jamal's story could have been woven in just a little better. It seemed almost forced sometimes even though it was a huge part or was supposed to be.

This book does give good background on things we as a society love to brush under the rug and not deal with. They bring them to light and remind us all that these things are still happening in our backyards.

All in all this is a powerful story and I think we all should be searching more of these out. The cover is stunning and I look forward to reading more from this author.

5/5 ✨

I want this book to be required reading in every high school in this country. This is such a powerful story and does not hold back punches.

Our main character is a very strong person but her heart does cause her to be careless but it makes sense because she is a teenager. This felt like a very realistic portrayal of a teen who is striving to make a change and save her family. I loved seeing the workshops she held, the ending where we find out she starts her own podcast. It just felt so genuine and real.

Speaking of Tracy I loved her relationship with Dean and Quincy. As someone who is POC I often think about the challenges that come with dating someone white. Because of all the history and differences in upbringings and this book had those conversations so amazingly. It broke my heart but it also made me feel so validated in some of the struggles I've gone through.

I adored the intricacies of the relationship. The dynamics with her family, friends, and Dean's family were all so well fleshed out. Also would love a whole novel on Steve who was the lawyer she writes letters too.

Overall adored this, it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

If you loved Just Mercy or Tiffany D Jackson's work I recommend this for you!

I was so excited to get an advance copy of this book and it did not disappoint. There was so much to love about This Is My America, . It was realistic, in a very sad way, that added a lot of credibility to the characters, as well as to the mystery and the way it's investigated. The plot and characters hooked me very quickly!

I love YA books like this with a protagonist whose life and voice aren't usually represented in YA. I'm really excited to read what Kim Johnson comes out with next.

I received this book from NetGalley and Random House's books for young children in exchange of an honest review.

TW: racism, racial injustice, police brutality, murder, Ku Klux Klan, inequality, bullying


Tracy Beaumont is seventeen years old and every week she writes a letter to Innocence X, an organization that could be able to help her and her family free her father, James, an innocent Black man, sentenced to death in Texas. After seven years and uncountable letters, the Beaumounts are running out of time, because James Beaumont has only 267 days left. Then their life is turned upside down again when her older brother, Jamal, is accused of murdering Angela, a white girl, Tracy's colleague in the school newspaper and their classmates. Desperate to do anything in her power to save her family, her brother and father, Tracy decides to discover what really happened to Jamal and Angela at the Pike, the place where she was murdered. What exposè was Angela talking about when she asked Tracy's help?
Is it possible that her murder is connected to the double murders James Beaumont was unjustly accused of? While trying to discover what really happened, helped by her friends and allies, Tracy starts to uncover an ugly truth about the past and present of her city. And the people around her.

This is my America is a powerful, searing and heartbreaking, but hopeful at the same time, debut novel.
Told from Tracy's POV and from her letters to Innocence X, this book is incredible and intense. The writing style is able to engage right away the reader, the plot is thrilling, full of twists and lies and truths and the characterization is skillfully written. I was blown away by this book, This is my America deals with complex and important topics regarding and impacting the lives of Black Americans. I found really interesting, heartbreaking and important reading the author's note, where Kim Johnson talks about the racism in the criminal justice system in America, police brutality, mass incarceration and the rise of white suprematists. This is my America is a work of fiction, but the topics discussed are current, complex and important.

I was captivated right away by This is my America. Tracy is a powerful main character, strong-willed, brave, aware of the injustices in the world, but determined to do anything in her power to educate herself and others and to fight for a better world and justice system. Tracy is surrounded by strong characters, like her brother Jamal, her friends Tasha, Dean and Quincy, while she tries everything to understand what happened the night Angela was killed and discovering some truths able to shock her and the whole city. Through her eyes the reader is able to know a determined and brilliant young woman, loyal to her family and friends, aware of the police brutality and the injustice in the system. I found her workshop, Know Your Rights, both empowering and "sad" at the same time, realizing the importance of learning their rights and how to deal with the police in various scenarios, being Black, and the fact they should have to learn how to deal in the first place.
I liked reading about funny and sweet moments between Tracy and her family and friend and between her and her love interest(s), moments well mixed in her fight and journey to justice. Through her friend Tasha's relationship with her father, the author shows how life after prison isn't easy, underlining the real-life struggles in Tracy's family too.

The title itself underlines a double America and the main character lives in her Black America, where Black people are more likely to get arrested, pulled over, shot or killed and where they are considered in a different way just for the colour of their skin. Unfortunately true is the comparison the main character does in the book:

"When I watch the news, I can tell without even looking at the TV if the suspect if white or Black. A "young man who lost his way" or "was afflicted by mental illness"=white. A "thug" with "trouble in school"= Black"

(quote from the earc, so subject to changes)

The double standard, the ingrained racism is another topics present in the book, a racism Tracy saw in her best friend too and in the city where she lives with her family and where people found easier point the blame to a Black man.
Because of her father violent arrest and injust trial, her father's friends death and his son Quincy being hurt at the hand hand of the police, a profound mistrust of the police is clear and understandable. The author, even underlining the police's corruptions and tampering with evidences and witness, inserts characters like Beverly Ridges and the evolution in Sheriff Brighton's and Officer Clyde's to show that exist police officers that are working to fight against implicit and explicit bias and the police oppression system.

A broken system, a powerful and intense main character, This is my America is a book that broke my heart and gave me hope at the same time. It's a powerful and empowering book and I recommend it to those who are looking for a strong female character, amazing and important plot, serious topics and hopeful and realistic ending. I suggest reading the additional resources and suggested references if you want to educate yourself on the topics of police brutality, racism and injustice in criminal prosecution.

This is my America is a book about not being silent, fighting for and demand justice and equality, about family, friendships and love.

Unforgettable.
Empowering.
Searing.
One of the best book I've read this year.