Member Reviews
Wow.
This story, six years in the making according to an author interview, is so incredibly timely. In a small Texas town near Galveston, 17-year-old Tracy Beaumont has been writing weekly letters for seven years to Innocence X, a legal aid group modeled after Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative. Her father is on death row for murders the family knows he didn’t commit, and Tracy is determined to get Innocence X’s attention so that they’ll take on her father’s case. Her popular brother has become more than friends with a white classmate. When Angela’s body is discovered near the bay, Jamal is the prime suspect. Knowing what happened when their father maintained his innocence, Jamal chooses to go into hiding rather than turn himself in. As Tracy learns more about Angela’s death, she begins to suspect that the police are covering things up and that there may be a connection between her father’s conviction and the manhunt for her brother. Her life-and-death race to clear their names could put her, along with her mother and sister, in danger.
While there are moments that dialog can teeter on didacticism and the resolution is almost certainly neater than “real life,” Johnson does an outstanding job of providing an accessible and fast-paced story that tackles our justice system, the prison industry, white supremacy groups, and the importance of #BlackLivesMatter.
Essential reading.
Thank you, Random House Books for Young Readers and NetGalley, for the electronic advance readers copy.
I finished this book yesterday and yet I can't stop thinking about it. It's a compelling, powerful debut novel about the ways that Black men and boys are victims of systemic racism (via police and the justice system) and the families that are left to deal with the aftermath.
But beyond that, THIS IS MY AMERICA shows teen readers that they can work to demand change. The main character, Tracy, is not a self-identified activist, and yet she writes a social justice column for her high school newspaper, she mails weekly letters to an organization to ask for help in getting her wrongly convicted father off of death row, she leads Know Your Rights workshops for folks in her community. Teens who aren't old enough to vote or don't have money to donate or are unsure of how they can be a part of the call for justice will be inspired by Tracy to figure out what they can do and then do it. Hell yeah.
"This is My America" by first-time novelist Kim Johnson is the story of Tracy Beaumont, a high school student fighting for the freedom of her father and then her brother. This book purposefully highlights many issues that have been facing black communities for far too long - mass incarceration, unfair sentencing, racial profiling and racism. Also, it sheds light on the dire effects that having a loved one in prison, especially when their innocence is clear but good lawyers are expensive and hard to come by, imposes on a family. Additionally, one of the key characters and organizations in the book is influenced by a social justice hero and the organization that he founded! This novel should replace classic literature in high school classrooms as it meaningfully, thoughtfully, and fiercely addresses so many issues about which young people should be learning and discussing. I hope this is the first of many book that Johnson writes, and I could not recommend it enough.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's for providing an ARC of This is My America by Kim Johnson.
Tracy writes letters to Innocence X to help get her father out of prison for a crime he didnt commit. For 7 years he has been sitting on death row. Then a crime is committed in their town in Texas and Tracy's brother Jamal is the main suspect.
This book is so revelant with everything that is happening today. With the black lives movement. Trying to get justice for these crimes that are being targeted against blacks all around the country. This is my favorite read so far this year A++
Not only is this book an indictment on the criminal justice system in America and the myriad ways, both subtle and overt, that white supremacy harms BIPOC, but it is also a page-turning mystery that will leave readers satisfied at the end.
I can’t think of a better story to reflect our current times than Kim Johnson’s This Is My America. I absolutely loved this YA novel and the ways that it reflected back to me much of what we here in America have publicly grappling with over the past month (and have actually been grappling with for hundreds of years, despite it’s absence from our headlines): the blight of police brutality, the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the divide between how America’s various citizens view and celebrate her history.
Tracy’s father has been wrongfully convicted of murder, and has less than a year left on death row. Tracy has spent the past seven years fighting for him and petitioning a justice organization, Innocence X, to take on her father’s case. In the midst of all this, Tracy’s brother is tangled up in a recent town tragedy, and Tracy finds herself fighting for him as well.
Johnson wove these storylines together beautifully, and invited her readers to really know her characters and their thoughts/feelings, particularly those of Tracy. As a white woman, it was incredibly illuminating to read the events of this book through a Black girl’s point of view. This novel added a narrative layer to all the “real world” reporting about injustice in the criminal justice system, and while it’s a fictional story, it humanized many of the headlines that have been circulating and offered insight that just can’t come from a 30-second news piece.
I could not put this book down, up to and including the author’s note at the end of the novel. Highly recommend this title!
Did you know that 1 in 9 people on death row are innocent? Tracy Beaumont's father, James, is that 1 in 9, and she won't stop until she proves it. For the past 7 years she has written a letter to an organization called Innocence X, and she even hijacked her big brother's TV interview to try and get their attention, all in the hopes of Innocence X taking on her father's case for an appeal, as he has less than a year left until his execution date. But when her brother, Jamal, is accused of killing a white girl in town, Tracy can't help but feel like everything that happened with her father is happening all over again.
What drew me to this book initially was its comparison to Just Mercy, (which is an accurate comparison) but what really pulled me in and kept me reading this book was the passion that Kim Johnson writes with. I knew VERY early on in this book that I was going to be recommending it to everyone, and that feeling only become stronger with each and every chapter. This book is simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting. In one chapter, I started tearing up because Tracy's father didn't have Vaseline for his hands, something he shouldn't have to worry about because he shouldn't be on death row. The next chapter I was tearing up because I was so inspired by how unflinchingly Tracy was willing to fight for her family, even in moments when she was absolutely terrified. This book highlights the systemic racism and generational trauma that Black people in America have had to live with their entire life. Written in a way that makes you feel deeply connected to the characters and their story, while also educating you on these social justices in every city and town in our country, this is a phenomenal book that I will undoubtedly be buying a physical copy of when it's released. I truly cannot wait to see what Kim Johnson does next.
I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Kim Johnson for providing me with an ARC of the novel This Is My America!
What a gorgeous, unputdownable book! A title like this is so incredibly important, especially right now when our world is falling apart at the seams due to racial inequality. I know I will be enduring a book hangover after this one… I just need a few days to reflect on this and take it all in. This is a super powerful read that I recommend to everyone.
Thank you again to those named above for the chance to read and review this novel!
This is a voice and a perspective that is SO needed in our YA collection - not just because of the days we are walking right now but because it does different work from others that seem to have louder voices or more exposure right now. EAGER to promote it.
YA publication date July 28, 2020
A father on death row.
A brother accused of murder.
17 year old Tracy trying to find justice for both.
This is a compelling story about racial injustice that goes deeper and darker than expected. A true page-turner that would make a great movie or limited series.
Tracy’s family were hurricane refugees from New Orleans who landed in Texas; that’s where Dad’s involvement in a real estate deal ended in a double homicide, Dad unjustly jailed for the murder, and Dad’s partner killed by the police. Now a junior, Tracy has been writing to Steve Jones, director of Innocence X, once a week begging him to take on Dad’s case; Dad’s execution date is under a year away.
The family is doing their best to hold together. Big brother Jamal is heading to college on a track scholarship when a white girl he has been secretly dating is found murdered. Though innocent, Jamal goes on the run since experience has taught him he can find no justice with the police. Tracy teams up with long time friends Quincy, the son of her father’s murdered partner, and Dean, the son of her Mom’s employer, to uncover evidence the proves a police cover up in Dad’s case and the police department connections to the Klan. Innocence X finally agrees to take the cases and at last Tracy has allies with the power to make a difference.
Inspired by the Innocence Project and Black Lives Matter, Tracy’s story is ripped from the headlines and tragically rooted in the incontrovertible role of racism in U.S. history. A helpful Author’s Note connects the past with the present. A necessary story for all high schools and many middle schools.
Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for the eARC of This Is My America.
I couldn’t put this book down and stayed up way later than I intended until I was done.
What’s important about books like these is that it gives us insight into a world we don’t live in. It helps build our empathy to a life different than ours. It helps us understand what it’s like to be black in America.
This will be on my “young adult” shelves this summer, but I already know it’s a book we could all benefit from reading as adults.
Please be sure to keep reading past the last page, as the Author’s Note and resources are just as important as the story.
What a wonderful and timely novel! Well written with detailed and realistic characters. This is easily one of the best books of the year.
Have you read a book, and when you finish, you just set it in your lap and can't even move? That was this book for me. I feel like I will need a day or two before I can even begin to think about reading another book. This was that powerful.
This books is AMAZING! I don't even know what else I can say about it. I think it should be required reading for all high school students.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers.
I can't say anything else about this book besides that I highly recommend everyone to read this book. I was completely captivated by this book and just couldn't put it down. I was completely sucked in. I really liked our main character. She was very headstrong and didn't let anyone silence her no matter how hard they tried. I liked seeing that in a main character and the narrative not punishing her for it. I loved the family dynamics in this book. They just completely came to life. All the characters did. The friendships also were amazing in this book and I liked how the main character had such a different relationship with all of her friends but she loved them all anyway. For the rest I just felt everything the main character felt and felt so anxious whenever she went out trying to find answers. I don't think I've ever felt so anxious during a mystery. I loved how this book didn't back down from any hard things happening and shone a light on a part of history and current day that most preffer to keep cover up. It just hurts me to say that all of the things happening in this book is so real because it shouldn't be. The police is supposed to protect everyone, not frame innocent black people.
Ah, This Is My America....
This book...
This book was exactly what i had thought and hoped it would be. Powerful.
This was easily a 5 star powerhouse of a teen novel. The author wrote such a heart gripping compelling story highlighting the struggles of Black Americans in current times. Through a fictional but totally plausible story, the author tackles the issues of the death penalty, wrongful convictions, police brutality, and white supremacist groups.
I felt Tracy's hurt and my heart was pulled and torn apart by the ugliness that people show and the TRUTH on this in the world.
I believe this would be absolutely necessary to have in schools, for required reading.
There's something to say about predicting what the words in a novel will do to you..all from just studying the cover. This is one of those times, one of those books. I had never read a Y/A like this before and I'm grateful that i was approved for this ARC. Again, many thanks to netgalley and random house childrens
I will highly be recommending this to everyone!
This book is amazingly written. The author wrote such a heart gripping compelling story highlighting the struggles of Black Americans in current times. It tackles the racial injustice in the criminal system. It’s release time couldn’t be better. Add this to your reading list ASAP. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Kim Johnson brings an important voice to the conversation with young people about race and the judicial system. This is an engaging story that takes on the death penalty head on. Perfect for middle and high school library and classroom collections. May work for upper elementary students as well.
This book is so important right now. Through a fictional but totally plausible story, Kim Johnson tackles the issues of the death penalty, wrongful convictions, police brutality, and white supremacist groups. Teens and adults should read this book.
WHEW. This is My America is an emotional rollercoaster. Tracy Beaumont's dad is sentence to death for a crime he didn't commit, and she's working against a ticking clock to prove his innocence. Set in small town Texas this story takes on racism, political injustice and bravery. Tracy will do anything it takes to prove her dads innocence. She is courageous and determined to fight the system that is stacked against the black community. This Is My America is powerful, poignant and important. I wept through this whole book. I can't recommended this book enough! Add this one to your TBRS!