I loved this. It was rich, lush, thoughtful. Reading it felt like eating a full meal cooked by my grandmother, with collards and yams and turkey falling off the bone.

It's a testament to girls and figuring out who they are and the bumps along the way, in all stages of life. It read to me like Gloria Naylor or Sandra Cisneros, with a teeny but of teenagerhood thrown in.

I knew I had to read this one when I saw it, but it exceeded my expectations.

Run and read this book - but prepare to have your heart twisted, if not torn. This contemporary YA story is set in rural Georgia (USA) in the present day. This is the first book I have read that includes the main characters having dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. While it was not the focus of the story, the mentions of the pandemic helped ground the story in reality and helped add to the feelings of loss in the main character. I was happy to see the inclusion of how it had impacted her.

Speaking of the main character, Avery, I really love her. She is of mixed race (Black mother and white father) and is queer and unapologetically out. Her feelings are never minimised by the author (although they are by her mother at times) and I appreciated how the author showed that we don’t often feel just one emotion at a time. Avery’s life has been temporarily upheaved from DC to Georgia to help care for her estranged maternal grandmother, who is dying and is not exactly nice. This book is mostly a character study of Avery as she attempts romantic love again, tries to get to know her grandmother before it’s too late, and helps her family reconcile after years of little contact. It’s a beautifully told story, even in the parts that are difficult. I, too, wish I had known Mama Letty more. As an aside, I liked all of Avery’s nicknames!

TW for mentions of alcoholism and verbal abuse, homophobia, racism, character death (the premise of the story).

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC. I am so excited for others to be able to read this book!

Just WOW. I devoured this novel and with good reason! It’s a wonderfully written story about a queer woman coming of age and unraveling years of familial secrets, and trying to break the cycles of generational trauma. No matter your background, you can find yourself in these characters and take something away from the story. Rarely has a book captivated my attention like this one, and the characters only propel the story forward.

We Deserve Monuments is a story about family and how complicated they can be, but also a story about being true to yourself, love, friendship, all with a little murder mystery sprinkled on top. I thought all elements were well done--strong sense of place, great character development, well-paced and written. Several moments at the end were especially heartwarming. One thing I really enjoyed was that while there were many elements to the story, it felt like an accurate representation of how many significant things teens deal with all at once. Avery moves to a new town, has to make new friends and eventually deal with some drama, navigate a new and sort of complicated relationship with the girl next door, all while getting to know her grandmother as she is dying. This is an incredible debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

“Be careful with all them questions you’re asking,” she said. “Might f*ck around and actually learn something.”
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Ahh, the delightful burden of truth.
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Congrats to Jas Hammond on your debut!!! We Deserve Monuments is a multilayered tale of generational trauma, queer Black love, the lasting impacts of racism, and the cost of knowing. I really enjoyed Avery as a character as she relentlessly pursued the truth against hostility and pushback from every angle. The developing relationship between Avery and Simone were also very well done. I really got a good sense of what it means to be out in a small town filled with hate, and I liked that it wasn't something quickly brushed over to make room for the romance. And while there was a LOT going on in this book, I feel Hammond gave each topic a good amount of time to develop where it didn't seem overwhelming.

Lastly, y’all know I’m a sucker for a pretty cover so like, was this NOT supposed to grab my attention? Thanks to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for my copy!!
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Just some quick CW before I go: racism, terminal illness, murder, toxic parental relationships, emotional abuse, homophobia, character outing. Take care of yourselves, friends!

When I went into this book, I was expecting that it would be about a person of color (POC) who did something monumental, who was thus deserving of a monument. However, this book is rather the opposite of that. I saw this book as having the message that everyone is deserving of a monument, or rather, worth remembering, even if they made mistakes in their life.

The main character, Avery, moves to small town Georgia with her mother and father to help take care of her dying grandmother. While on this journey, Avery discovers a lot family secrets revealing why her mother and grandmother didn't talk for over a decade. This book displayed a beautiful message about the power of family and forgiveness. There were a lot of facets to the relationships that the characters had that I think many people could relate to. Even as an adult, I could relate to the relationship that Avery's mother and grandmother had. There was a lot of unresolved hurt that they were still holding onto.

This book also has a lot of LGBTQIA+ representation. Besides the grandmother, most characters identify as queer in someway. Along with that, there's issues of characters' coming out and being accepted in the south.

While this book wasn't what I was expecting, it was ultimately a great read that had a lot of life messages that I valued. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This is the most achingly beautiful book I have read in years. Jas Hammonds is a talent to be watched. If this is their debut effort, look out world!
Delving into generational trauma, queer oases in the south, teenagers figuring out who they are while trying to discover who their family members are and have been.
I lack the words to describe this adequately but thank goodness Hammonds has found the words to tell this incredible story. This book belongs in every school classroom and library in the country.

It's honestly hard for me to capture all of the feelings that Hammonds creates within the reader in a review. Hammonds excels at bringing together the difficulty of intergenerational trauma, of illness and death in the family, of making friends in a new town, of finding yourself and who you are, and of so, so much more. It's a lot for a single text to accomplish -- yet Hammond does it fluidly, without feeling forced or over-dramatic. It feels REAL. Teenage and young adult readers will connect deeply with the story that Hammonds tells. Easily the best YA fiction story that I've read this year.

Thank you, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, for allowing me to read We Deserve Monuments early.

I loved, loved, loved this story. Such a gorgeous debut. It broke my heart into a million pieces and then mended it together in a beautiful way. I will definitely recommend this story to my students.

Jas Hammonds has my eyes all watery at the end of WE DESERVE MONUMENTS. The impact of generational trauma - the fizzy Sprite feeling of first kisses - sour/sweet coming out stories - unsolved murder mysteries & lazy summer nights.

I thought this was a very strong debut! The characters in particular made the story - they were fully fleshed out and flawed but likable. It did take me a little bit of time to adjust to the formatting of the story (the third person interstitial chapters threw me off at first) and I thought the book wrapped up pretty abruptly and didn't have the most satisfying ending, but otherwise I really enjoyed reading this!

Terrific writing and a compelling story with characters that are strongly developed. A middle or high school class would love to have this book read to them - with so much learning ground to develop and extend. The story ends with you crying sad and crying happy.

This book started simply: "I need to go home."

There are a lot of deep dark secrets in Bardell. And Avery faces down the darkness, not knowing. "What is this, 1955?" "It's Bardell." She said it as if it needed no further explanation." This book is full of racism, prejudice against LGBTQIA+ community, classism, and buried family and town secrets. Oh, and Avery's post-COVID teen angst. "Because people love a good mystery. Because death is good for business." "A murderer is still a murderer."

The story shifts point of view periodically, when the reader needs insight into a situation Avery doesn't know. Told like a short story in the midst of a much larger one.

What really grabbed my attention was the author's use of symbolism, deftly wound throughout the book. For example, the girls each have rings that symbolize their friendship: sodalite (self-acceptance and confidence; selenite (peace); and citrine (joy). And the sunflowers? Let's just say they're important.

Part thriller, part coming-of-age story, We Deserve Monuments deserves to be on your must-read list.

We Deserve Monuments is the #1 book I've read this year!!

Cw: a large part of the story centers on police violence/ racial violence & mentions of the klan, alcoholism/ abuse, mild homophobia, death/terminal illness

I adored We Deserve Monuments.
Getting to see messy, queer brown girls falling in love while trying to sort out the chaos of their lives felt so incredibly real and raw and beautiful. Ugh, I cannot get over it.

The ebb and flow of the relationship between Mama Letty, Zora and Avery will break you and ever so gently put you back together. It plays to generational gaps, tensions between mothers and daughters, grief and finding yourself while learning your history.

Thank you to Jas Hammonds for writing a book that upended my life in such a beautiful way. It's a masterpiece.

Review also posted to Goodreads, Twitter & Amazon

An absolutely stunning debut, this novel is both tender and sweet and really delves into the way that family and place shape the person you become. The way that Jas Hammonds handles generational trauma and the way that small towns handle issues of mental health, addiction, and race is masterful. Definitely a book both teens and adults will love!

Avery Anderson's senior year is not going to be the way she had planned. When her mother receives word that her grandmother, Mama Letty, has been diagnosed with cancer for a third time, Avery's parents decide to move to Bardell, Georgia to take care of her. Avery is unsure of how to react and the long-simmering tension between her mother and grandmother isn't helping. Avery makes two new friends, Simone and Jade, and through them she starts to learn a lot about the serious racial tensions that have existed in Bardell for years. Avery finds comfort and strength in her new friends and she also develops feelings for Simone. When both girls act on their feelings, it seems as if everything will change and not necessarily for the better. Avery starts to spend more time with Mama Letty and starts to learn more about the past, and how it impacted both the town and her family. This was a wonderfully emotional story of love, friendship, family, and the power of the truth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of “We Deserve Monuments” in exchange for an honest review. Hammonds’ debut novel is beautiful and complex. One of the strengths of this novel was the development of the relationships. Romantic, parent/child, friends, etc. I felt myself moved by the conversation around loss and grief as well as the complexity of the coming-out process and how it’s impacted by cultural, religious, familial, etc. considerations. I don’t know how I feel about the big reveal at the end—wrapping up the mystery plot line. It was interesting reading a book that is in the aftermath of the height of the pandemic. All in all, this is definitely worth the read.

I was lucky enough to win an electronic ARC of WE DESERVE MONUMENTS by Jas Hammonds from the Summer/Fall Grab-a-Galley. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy summer!

You know who really deserves a monument? Jas Hammonds, for writing such a breathtaking, heart-stopping, rip-out-your-soul-and-stitch-it-back-together-into-a-magnificent-tapestry gem of a book. I have been struggling for something like a month now to write a review that would do this book justice and you know what? It’s just not possible. So I want you to take me at my word when I tell you that We Deserve Monuments is *the* book you have to read when it comes out later this year. Actually, go ahead and preorder it right now. I’ve already got my copy pre-ordered. It is a testament to Queer Black girls everywhere and a shining example of how love can bring people together, how it can heal the deepest of wounds even when the odds are stacked against them. Rarely does a book contain near-equal doses of mystery, romance, and adventure, but Jas Hammonds understood the assignment and got the mix just right.

Avery Anderson has a plan. That plan involves staying focused on her studies and getting in and out of her mother’s hometown of Bardell, Georgia as fast as she can. Her plan is to get into Georgetown and study astronomy like her mother, Zora. Moving from Washington, D.C. to Podunk MAGA country at the beginning of her senior year was not in the plan at all, but when her mom receives a letter from her old friend and neighbor Carole that reveals her Mama Letty is dying, the whole Anderson family uproots their lives to go and care for her in her last months.

Avery knows very little about her Mama Letty, especially since her mother never talks about her. Their first meeting doesn’t go very well. When Mama Letty nicknames her Fish after spotting her lip ring and questions whether or not she’s a lesbian now, Avery is ready to run not walk back to D.C. Mama Letty is cantankerous, gruff, and has her walls up so high not even Jericho could compare. How is Avery supposed to get to know someone who won’t even talk to her other than in grunts and monosyllables?

At the same time, Avery was hoping for a break from her old friends Kelsi and Hikari, but she didn’t envision the break being so permanent. Ever since her breakup with Kelsi, fueled by Kelsi’s racist micro-aggressions about Avery being “barely Black” (she’s biracial), things haven’t been the same. Now that she’s in Bardell, D.C. feels like a completely different galaxy. The rules are different. The scenery is different. The people are different. Who will Avery become if she lets all of it in—and who will she become if she doesn’t? The move throws Kelsi and Hikari’s lives into stark contrast compared to her own and there’s nothing that can be said or done to remedy that. And why should she even try to remedy it when they scoffed at her lip ring? When they begged her not to shave her head? When they minimized and tried to erase her Blackness from the equation of her identity? What’s the point of being friends with people who don’t want you to be the most authentic version of yourself possible?

It doesn’t help that something is rotten in the state of Georgia on Sweetness Lane. There’s something that’s being kept from Avery by Zora and Mama Letty, something they don’t talk about but which fuels their arguments and resentments. Avery has vague flashbacks back to when she was little. She can see things being thrown and hear raised voices. She can remember the dissonance of the family fighting while they were supposed to be celebrating Christmas. But neither Zora nor Mama Letty wants to talk about it. No one wants to rip off the bandaid so the wound can heal.

And then there’s Simone, Carole’s daughter. Simone stirs longings in Avery from the first time they meet, but they’re not in Washington, D.C. They’re in Bardell, Georgia, where anti-Black racism and homophobia are alive and well. Thriving, even. Should Avery act on her feelings or tamp them down? Catching feelings for someone new was not part of the plan, but Avery soon discovers that life cares little for our plans.

Avery befriends Simone and Simone’s friend Jade. She’s quickly initiated into their friend group and made a part of their rituals. She learns what real friendship looks like, the kind where you don’t have to separate the different parts of yourself out like straining something through a sieve. She also learns that there are weird connections between her family and Jade’s family, who are rich and white and own The Draper Hotel and Spa. In fact, everything in Bardell seems oddly connected to different parts of Avery’s family and their history. Learning hard truths forces Avery to accept that nothing is what it appears to be on the surface and that everyone has something to hide. Will the truths she learns help to heal the fractures in her family, or will Mama Letty die without things being set right? I lost all of my fingernails racing through the pages to find out.

It’s so hard for me not to give up too many of the plot details but I just want you to know that I will be talking about this book until it comes out and harassing everyone I know to read it when it finally does.

I thought this was a refreshing modern read with a lot of heavy complex themes. This book takes place in the year of 2022, 2 years after the COVID pandemic in the small town of Bardell, Georgia. The setting of this book was refreshing as the book alludes to recent events and touches upon the interesting political climate in America today. It follows Avery, who is a senior in high school, as she navigates a confusing time in her life, trying to figure out who she really is and why her family is fractured the way it is. The book is also written in an interesting style where most of the chapters are written in first person from Avery’s point of view, but there are a few chapters written in third person to provide more exposition on the events that have happened in this town. In addition to this stylistic choice, the book is written in a young voice with a lot of slang that gen z uses today.

Some of the themes this book covers include: trauma, the cycle of abuse, race, and being comfortable in your own skin. These are very heavy themes that really opened my eyes to a whole another perspective. Throughout the novel we learn of the various traumas that each character has dealt with, how the traumas have affected them and how the characters have suffered in a cycle of abuse. Additionally, we get a lot of interesting insight into our main characters experience with racism and identity as Avery deals with modern day issues such as the perception of affirmative action, dealing with the racism that is rooted in her town and struggles of being a queer high achieving woman.

I did enjoy this book but it was not what I was expecting. I didn’t feel like the book synopsis really represented what the book was about. This book is labeled as a LGBTQIA and Young Adult Mystery/Thriller, but I felt that this was more of a contemporary LGBTQIA young adult book with a little bit of romance. The mystery wasn’t really a focal point for this story and more of a side plot, whereas the main focus of this story was Avery trying to build a relationship with her estranged grandmother. It was very heartwarming and a nice slow read to follow along, but not a gripping mystery or thriller.I thought it was a bit predictable. However, if you are looking for a book that is easy to read, explores the interesting themes and shows you the perspective a young-queer-bi-racial teenager today coming of age, this would be a great book for you.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4). It has very interesting and heartwarming but not at all what I was expecting in terms of the plot. Thank you to FierceReads for sending me an eARC of this book as part of the YallWest giveaway!