This was a heart wrenching coming-of-age story touching on very heavy topics and generational trauma. I enjoyed this one!

Sometimes there are books that are written that seem to capture our hearts and souls. Every year, I usually find a handful books that do that to me; however, I've never read one so early in the year. This book has so much meaning to me. It's beautiful, gut-wrenching filled with happiness, sadness, pain, relief, compassion, anger, hatred, and more. Jas Hammonds wrote their ass off in this one and I can't wait to see what they produce in the future.

We Deserve Momuments is so many things at once, but at it's core it is a story that follows 17-year old Avery as she travels back to Bardell, Georgia with her mother and father to help take care of her terminally ill grandmother. While there, Avery learns so much about her family, it's highs and lows and most of all its secrets. She also meets two other characters, Jade and Simone, who create an even more complex meaning behind the words friendship and love. It is in Bardell that Avery learns about love, loss, heartbreak, and finding peace and closure.

What Worked: EVERY FUCKING THING. Nothing about this book was a miss. And it is quite rare that I say that. From Hammond's beautiful and poetic writing, to the intricacy of the plot development, to the robust character development, everything was crafted in way that made me want more and more of the story. Coming from a family that has had it's own fair share of secrets as well as generational abuse, I connected to Avery's need to fix her family. Unfortunately, for a good portion of the book she doesn't understand that there are some things in life that one just can't "get over." The relationship between her mother and grandmother was more complex than she could have ever expected and both needed to find their own way to both healing and forgiving. Black women are often characterized with a certain amount of strength that doesn't allow them to be vulnerable. We are so strong that we can "take anything." Hammonds broke that narrative. Avery saw her mother as this successful, powerful, Black woman and didn't understand how much pain and suffering she carried. It took this meeting between the three generations to comprehend how much of shield she'd held up her entire life. Avery has potential to ruffle a few feathers for readers because as a teenager she believes she understands it all, that she knows it all (didn't we all think like this at some point haha). But Hammonds takes their time with Avery, molding her into a place of understanding, compassion, and sensitivity. By the end of the book, I loved Avery and her family like they were my own.

There were also some interesting and thorough points about Blackness and it's intersection with queerness. While I can't discuss all of it in detail due to spoilers, it was amazing to see the varied generational and cultural perspectives on what it meant not only to be Black, but also queer in a small town that was readily known for it's bigotry. Avery's experiences in being out while living in DC vary greatly from her counterparts in this book and it's something that she has to reckon with and grow to understand.

One of my favorite parts of this book outside of the writing was the ever evolving relationships. I LOVED that Avery met Jade and Simone and they formed this tight knit friendship. The closeness that begins to exist between Simone and Avery does change the dynamic, but I'm glad that it did. There is something to be said about accurate portrayal of teen relationships in books and this one does it right. I've seen people criticize the relationships between Avery and Simone to the relationships that Avery has with her family and I disagree with all of those thoughts. AVERY IS A TEENAGER. SIMONE IS A TEENAGER. JADE IS A TEENAGER. THIS IS A BOOK FOR TEENAGERS. As an adult reader, it must be clear that we have a life of experience that teenagers do not. They fall in love quick, make decisions without much thought, and think that the universe revolves around them. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO. That's what teenagers do and my goodness do we get to see that beauty in this book. These characters and their relationships grow. They begin to understand each other. They begin to forgive each other. And most of all, they begin to truly love each other.

If I could personally write a thank you letter and give it to Jas Hammonds myself, I would. At the time of writing this review, my own grandmother is dying of a terminal illness and my family isn't exactly in the best place. The feeling of being seen in a book that wasn't even written for me both breaks and mends my aching heart. With writing that flows so smoothly and feels like pure poetry, I'm not sure I've come across a book as beautiful as this. It's quotable, it's memorable, it's everything that I needed in this moment of my life. So, thank you Jas for giving me a book that I didn't even realize I needed. That is the power of good book and a damn good writer. If you haven't considered checking out this book, you're missing out. It is easily going to be one of my favorites of 2023.

Avery, a queer, biracial teen, has some difficulty adjusting to her new life in the small-town South. Her grandmother has cancer, and there is a lot of tension in the house amongst the family. This novel addresses generational trauma and racism very believably, and shows how the current generation of teens may help make change happen. The relationships are beautifully depicted, and the characters are all very relatable.

This is an excellent YA read.

Amazing book. This book contained beautiful prose and tackled such a hard topic with care and sensitivity. I can't wait to read more from Jas Hammonds, she has a way with words.

This one was just lovely throughout. I really loved the characters--they are felt real and layered and...heartbroken? You could tell there was pain there, but it was written in a way that still brought joy and love from the characters.

Great book!! The plot twist I did not see coming, but I guess it is the idea that we are all capable of evil no matter how good we seem. enjoyed this book, but did not captivate my attention wholly.

Family, friendship, secrets? Yes, please! Emerging from childhood to teen was well explored, focusing on finding your place when the world seems to not want you to belong.

Overall, I thought this was a really great book!

The representation in this book was absolutely fantastic. The majority of the characters were people of color, and some of the characters also identified as LGBTQ+.

I'm a big fan of stories that are character-driven, which this story is. I found the characters to be interesting, and I enjoyed learning more and more about this family, from their secrets to their trauma. I also enjoyed seeing the dynamic between the three girls--Avery, Simone, and Jade.

There were a lot of deep, serious issues discussed in this narrative, but I personally thought they were handled well. It was heavy, and there were definitely messy moments in the plot at times, but it certainly struck me in a good way. It was both a heavy and quick read for me.

The only critique I really have is the ending--I was hoping for a bigger/clearer reveal to the mystery element. But overall, I enjoyed and would recommend this book!

This is a debut novel, and thinking about that shocks me because this was a BEAUTIFUL story that simultaneously made me laugh, cry, and want to hug every member of my family extra tight! I've been recommending this to everybody recently, and I'm so excited to see what else Jas has coming!

We Deserve Monuments promised a deep dive into complex themes of family, race, and history, but ultimately I felt like it fell short of its potential. While the premise is compelling, the execution feels somewhat predictable and lacks the emotional depth one might expect from such a weighty subject matter. The novel's characters, while likable, remain somewhat superficial, preventing readers from truly connecting with their struggles. While there are undoubtedly some poignant moments, I wanted more. I had such high hopes for this book, but it just didn't resonate as deeply as I had thought it would (and yes, I realize the irony of that statement given then I am an adult, white woman). So obviously take my background into consideration before turning this book away! I had heard such great things that my review alone shouldn't be the reason you don't pick it up.

I thought this was going to be a four or five star book while I was reading it. And while I really did enjoy the book and it was a beautifully written story, the ending was a little disappointing. Very disappointing. It felt too rushed and there were a lot of unanswered questions.

I love YA, but definitely felt my age reading this one because I wanted to cry when the characters made choices that made things harder for both themselves and their families. The poor grandmother! That being said this is absolutely worth picking up, and if you have a 17 year old in your life, this is a great rec.

This book should be required reading. It was so beautifully written. It was hard to read in parts. There was a lot of anguish and hurt throughout these pages. But wow it was fantastic

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds is a YA contemporary story with painful historic roots. The Anderson family motto is “focus forward,” but Avery and her mother, Zora, learn that always pushing ahead and only looking to the future can leave you mired in the past.

Avery is a driven student with high goals. Her life revolves around AP classes, test prep, and college admissions deadlines. Or it did…until her family abruptly moved south to Bardell, Georgia to care for her grandmother.

Avery doesn’t even know Mama Letty. She only has vague and violent snippets of memory from visiting when she was five-years-old. Naturally, she’s full of questions, which Zora refuses to answer. As family secrets slowly unfold, Avery pushes Zora and Letty to reconcile before time runs out.

We Deserve Monuments is full of unforgettable characters written with emotional depth. And Hammonds has done a beautiful job weaving together the trauma, bitterness, and resentment of the past with new found friendship, acceptance, and love.

If a story’s setting is important to you, this one is a stand-out! Each location carries its own piece of the story - its own theme and emotion - which together form a well-rounded sense of place. Sweetness Lane is family and abandonment, Downtown Bardell is hatred and revenge, the “perfect spot” along the river is carefree friendship, the train station is love, and The Renaissance is pure joy.

We Deserve Monuments is a book everyone should read.

This book was so amazing it made me laugh, cry and feel angry. I didn't know what to expect from this book but it was such an amazing read. The book was beautifully written and it left me feeling all the feeling and raw. A well crafted coming of age story that will make you feel everything under the sun. I loved seeing every perspective through Avery's eyes. Highly recommend.

Powerful, stunning, well crafted. The rich background tensions of Hammonds' novel create a delicious drive towards a compelling and satisfying conclusion. A must-buy.

We Deserve Monuments is an impressive debut novel. I loved and empathized with Avery right from the start, and couldn’t help but fall in love with Simone and Mama Letty as well. This book tackled a lot, and at times felt like it could have been further developed, but it’s a great read regardless. This is one I’ll be recommending and I can’t wait to see what Hammonds writes in the future.

Moving and being the new kid is always hard, even harder when it’s your senior year. Although for Avery, the move might actually be a good thing after her recent breakup. The change of scenery, Bardell, to take care of her terminally ill grandmother whom she hasn’t seen since she was five, is not the easy road at all. There is a main story plot line and a couple of lesser plot lines that eventually make sense together in the end.

This is a must read book-a "mirror" book for some of my students, but more importantly a "window" book for my students to gain some insight into another's experience so different from their own. An excellent story weaved with voices and timelines.

Avery Anderson is 17 years old and being uprooted from her home in DC to small town Georgia to look after her ailing grandmother along with her parents. Avery is very city and looks out of place in this country town and her nose piercing has everyone asking her is shes a lesbian. Avery is a lesbian, but isn’t necessarily ready to be open with the people she’s just met. Avery’s mom left home after graduating, and never looked back, her strained relationship with her mother has caused Avery and her grandmother to have.a nonexistent relationship. When Avery lays eyes on her neighbor Simone Cole she’s immediately smitten. As she watches the interaction between Simones mother and her mother she realizes there’s a tension between them that is odd. As Avery and Grandma Letty spend more time together Grandma Letty begins to break down her walls as she tells stories of the grandfather Avery never knew. Family secrets are soon revealed and everyone’s life is forever changed.

I really enjoyed this YA book. I love the way it explores family dynamics, healing, self love and acceptance. This book was so well written anyone could read it from YA to adults and thoroughly enjoy it.
Thank you @netgalley and @macmillian for this ARC. #YA #teen #YABooks #lgbtqia #blacklgbtqia