What worked: Powerful, poignant coming-of-age story. Seventeen-year-old Avery moves from DC to a small town in Georgia to help her dying grandmother. There are many secrets that include intergenerational trauma. One of those secrets involves a tragedy with Avery's family and anger that continues to haunt the family.

I really loved this novel. Avery is biracial and when she is around her dying grandmother Letty she's slowly able to piece together what happened one fateful day in Georgia to the grandfather she never knew.

Avery hooks up with Jade, a girl whose family lives in a Southern Plantation and has their own secrets, and next-door neighbor Simone. The romance between Avery and Simone is a slow burn that has some similarities to their own mother's friendship years ago.

Readers follow Avery as she navigates such issues as homophobia, racism, and family trauma in a small Georgia town. Great pacing throughout with hope resonating at the end.

Amazing, gripping tale of trauma that is felt for generations. A total must-read.
Good Points
1. Amazing, poignant story of intergenerational trauma set in Georgia
2. Queer love story

I really enjoyed this book. It followed Avery, a queer girl from DC forced to move to her mother's tiny rural hometown of Bardell, Georgia to care for her dying grandmother. Probably my favorite part was Avery's unexpected self-actualization in Bardell; even in such a hostile (racist, homophobic) environment, she was able to find community, wholeness, and love, and actively cultivate those things in her world. I also especially liked reading about her friendship group in Bardell, her romantic relationship with Simone, and the history of queer existence and love in Bardell. I also enjoyed the process of uncovering the town's secrets throughout the book, but I felt that the final reveal wasn't given enough time to be developed; it had a lot of repercussions in Avery's life that I would have loved to see addressed. However, I did enjoy the author's take on resolving narrative threads in the "epilogue" section; I've never before seen a YA romance give more weight to the characters' life paths than their dating future.

Wow so this has to be one of my favorites of the year. It really tugged at my heart and the way the story was put together was super impressive too. I think I read this book in a day? Maybe two at maximum? But yeah it did not take me super long and it made me cry as I read it, and both of those things are super fun and worth practically everything.

The characters were of course superb. Avery with her sarcasm and wit and Simone with her dreams and fears and Jade who was just super nice and trying her best. And the family that we lived with was so superb as well. The way their secrets and traumas and lives were all connected was so fun and I loved it a lot (I also love how it was mentioned that a certain character went to therapy to heal from trauma, but it wasn’t mentioned in a bad way or in super graphic detail, it was just mentioned).

I also loved how complex all the relationships were. There were reasons behind everyone who didn’t like each other, and reasons behind everyone that did. It was just so so fun to read and figure out what was going on. And the way the plot helped us uncover what was going on and the complex relationships between all of the characters was superb. Avery is trying to find out why her mom and grandma don’t like each other and the way the book helps Avery (and us) learn about that is so fun and dare I say, quite realistic.

The book takes place after quarantine and so these teenagers have also lost around 2 years of school to COVID. It made me connect with them a lot better and bonding with them was important as the plot was so so focused on people. It was also really cool setting wise because Stacey Abrams was mentioned and other political events were too. It seemed like the author was trying to ground this book in the present and doing so really helped me connect with the characters as well.

The way the friendship struggles were portrayed was also realistic. I haven’t really had a lot of in person friendships but I would like to note that also seemed realistic to me, even if I’m not a hundred percent certain it was. It really touched me and was fun.

And now, for what you all have been waiting for, Annalee’s Thoughts On Plot.

I really really liked how this book was set up! The way the flashbacks were interspersed really evenly with what was happening in the present made me want to keep reading all the time to learn more and also provided crucial details to the narrative as they went. We learned about the Oliver Family through flashbacks, and what happened to Amelia Oliver, and we learned what was happening in the Anderson Family in the present. I thought it was really incredibly well-written and put together and I aspire to write that well one day.

Why are all the books getting published giving me writing envy now?

But anyway the plot was really quite character-centric as the characters tried to figure out what was going in their respective pasts, and as Avery tried to figure out why her family was the way it was. It was really nice and I liked the narrative.

I liked how the book showed that people can and do change for better and for worse. Life is a long time, and of course people are going to change during those (on average) 70+ years. I liked that in the book and it really touched me.

I also liked how queerness and the scariness of coming out was talked about in this book. Because sometimes it is scary or hard or sad or a combination of the three, depending on the circumstances. And I’m really glad that was mentioned in this book because not every coming out is a basket of rainbows (no one worry, mine was fine) and hopefully readers can connect to that as well.

All in all, Avery’s story was one that made me smile and cry and unable to put down We Deserve Monuments. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it!

Normally I can describe a book with just one word but there aren’t enough words for this one. I have read so many amazing books in my life but I have not had one that left me speechless. If you have ever read a book that you just couldn’t find the right words to describe it because there aren’t good enough words for it, that is this book.

From the very beginning to the very end, It was amazing. There was love, friendship, family, unsolved murders, and finding yourself.

I can not recommend this book enough.

The multi-generational complexities in this book offered lessons in race, homophobia and class in the rural south. Avery's mother, who makes a living as an astrophysics professor has made a new life for herself in DC. Her biracial and queer daughter Avery is still finding her way after a break up with her racist girlfriend. It's through her mother's southern roots that she becomes sure of herself but she also discovers her family's hidden secrets and tries to overcome her sickly but mean grandmother Mama Letty.

Y’all…yall. This book..this book is what our queer kids are living. This is the hurt, the fear, the bigotry, that follows our youth and causes them to suffer in silence.

This story follows Avery, a 17 year old biracial lesbian who has to move back home to a small town in Georgia to see about a dying grandmother. We watch Avery go through many trials (living in a small town myself I understand her pain oh too well), but we also watch how she navigates and come into her own.

This is a beautiful coming of age story that will make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, and some parts will down right piss you off… but in the end…. WE DESERVE MONUMENTS!

Thank you to Hear Our Voices Tour for an ARC review!!

This book took me for a loop. The trauma of Avery, our main character, her mother Zora, and Avery's grandmother, Mama Letty was something else! While reading I totally understood not only where Zora was coming from but also Mama Letty. I love how Jas showed amazing representations with sexuality , race and generational trauma if not fixed. Avery moving from a fast paced city like DC as a queer teenager to a slow paced state like GA was a culture shock within it's self, especially with being bi-raical on top of that. We get to see how Avery handles her senior year within the small town and also discovers some of the town's secrets as well. I can say you will need tissues, I've cried so much I lost count. Lol Over all an amazing debut novel and I can't wait to meet Jas Hammonds in person at Yall Fest next month!

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲?
* Yes, most definitely. Hammonds gives a voice to the queer, biracial, and Black kids; and, those with messy families. Her debut novel is a stellar read.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿:
* My favorite character is Simone. Simone is a sunflower—warm, fun, welcoming, and cheerful. Her personality is bright and refreshing in spite of the darkness that surrounds her. I find it amusing that she uses the stars (astrology) to guide her life choices in this world. Nonetheless, Simone carries her own secrets and dreams that scare her, too.
*
𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆:
* A major takeaway for me is how the mother Zora expects to return after 12 years to Georgia, with secrets and trauma, and a daughter that is clueless to her past, and not expect any turmoil. That’s Crash Course 101 in flames. Avery demands answers about a history her mother tried to erase—for good reason—but wrong nonetheless so she can help her family find peace. Of course, Avery can’t find herself, she doesn’t know who she even is.

𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀/𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀:
* Belonging
* Deferred Dreams
* Unresolved Trauma

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?
* Yes, the title reminds us that the forgotten people—the brutalized, the marginalized, and the oppressed—deserve monuments, too. However, the white supremacist models show us a lop-sided view of heroes in Southern history.

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁/𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂?
* The storytelling is part swoony romance, part mystery sprinkled with two large helpings of family drama and Southern racism. The writing/plot is definitely filled with action and entertainment. Mama Letty is humorous at times, but very mean at first. She definitely grows on you. You will want to keep reading until dawn breaks.

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱?
* I didn’t like how so grossly relatable this book was to my own family—the messy, dysfunction and miscommunication of how past hurts affects generations. In addition, I am not a fan of slow-burn mystery elements, but everything else works seamlessly.

Moving to a hick southern town from DC for your senior year of high school to spend time with your crotchety dying grandmother when you're Black and queer--living the dream, right? Not so much. Still, Avery is interested in getting to know Mama Letty, despite the latter's resistance. She's kind of over her best friends in DC, including the one she used to date. She's lucky enough to find new besties: her scrumptious next door neighbor Simone, and Simone's perfect white homie Jade.

Secrets come out, fences get broken, tears are shed, and love gets mended. And sometimes justice isn't served and old wounds go unhealed.

"'Maybe they're not petty little things.'
"'It's been years since my mom left, Jade, years!'
"'Exactly. It's been years and whatever broke them is still bothering them. That means it must've been serious.'
"'Serious enough that Mama Letty is literally about to die and my mom still can't let it go?'
Jade shrugged. 'Trauma is a bitch who keeps on giving. It's hard to let go of something you haven't worked through. Some would argue it's impossible.'"

***

Perhaps you've observed, like I have, that Tarot is gaining on astrology in certain circles.

"She tented her fingers. 'I knew this would happen. My card tried to warn me.'
'Your card?'
'The Three of Swords,' she said, exasperated I wasn't keeping up. 'It represents heartbreak and hardship.'"

***

And here's some Zoomer realness:

"I learned active shooter drills the same time I learned my ABCs, every summer was the hottest on record. The pandemic paused a majority of my high school years, and I'd been convinced the only way to make it up was to go, go, go full steam ahead. And now this. It was Mama Letty's last days and there wasn't nearly enough time to make up everything I'd lost. Life was short. Everything was urgent and who had time to breathe in all that?"

5 million stars. This book was beautiful. I was sobbing. I had to stop reading and go get a tissue to blow my nose. Sobbing.

Well, I have another favorite read this year! This book was simply wonderful. Jas Hammonds knows how to write characters and relationships that are real and relatable, from friendship breakups to first loves, to the troubled mother and daughter relationship.

The story follows our protagonist Avery Anderson who must navigate the complexities of homophobia and racism while solving a small-town mystery. Although there were times within the story where I found complete joy and had a few laughs, there is loss, grief and familial trauma that hit a little too close to home.

I highly recommend this book! Please support this debut author!

Thank you to Hear Our Voices, Jas Hammonds, and the publisher for the ARC!

God, what a story. I absolutely freaking loved this, and am here for all the rep for queer, black, biracial characters! I'm a sucker for any coming of age story, and this was no exception- I cried, I laughed, I felt such a strong sense of community and love within these characters. This was so beautifully written that I felt every single thing that Avery was feeling and I was so into her romance with Simone. Even though I can't identify with every aspect of this book, I really connected to Avery as a character and think she's one of the best in YA. Don't miss this!

4.5 stars. This book was a slow burn, that [in the end] blew me away.

In the beginning, Avery is a compliant teengaer, going along with her parents' decision to move her from DC to Georgia just before her senior year of high school. Avery strives for maturity and pitches in to help, not fighting with her parents and not even voicing much displeasure about their intentional uprooting of Avery's life. Once we got through that sunshine and rainbows fluff, the truth set in and the story was set on fire.

Jas Hammonds threaded a complication narrative through three generations of women that not only discussed historic racial events, but also the long-lasting effects of every day choices. Characters were multi-dimensional and flawed, but not overtly dislikable; in fact, I kept wanting them to "right their ships" and the more real the conversations became, the better the book became.

In the end, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, there weren't all nicely wrapped endings, and the book had far more depth and intellect that I'd expected after the first 30-40 pages. This is one that could definitely hold the attention of students and give them something to discuss in a profound way.

I'll tell my students about: language, LGBTQIAP+, mystery, murder, cancer, death, racial violence, oppression, discrimination

**Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed here are my own.**

This is such a great book. The family tensions and family ties with the added context of declining health were written beautifully. Reckoning with the past is difficult for anyone, but the added stakes of this book made it impossible to put down.

Thank you so much @hearourvoicestours, netgalley, and the publisher for this arc!!

We Deserve Monuments follows Avery on a journey of self discovery, when she is forced to move from her carefully thought out life in DC to help take care of her sick grandmother in small town Bardell, Georgia. CW: racism, cancer, death, grief, gun violence, homophobia.

I really liked this book. It was filled with both light and dark moments that flowed seamlessly together. There were moments when I laughed out loud and moments I teared up getting caught up in my emotions while reading. I love the title of this book and seeing Avery learn more about herself and her family. You see the built up resentment, the secrets, the generational trauma and I thought it was handled realistically with care.

Mama Letty was my favorite character! She was an angry and bitter old lady and to me her moments were the best. As the story continued to unfold and more of the reveals happened I always found the moments Avery spent with Letty to be refreshing and eye opening.

On top of this book being a sapphic romance, coming of age, ya contemporary there was also a mystery sub plot. As much as I enjoyed this book, I was not a fan of the ending to this particular storyline and I will be bitter about it for a very long time!!

I definitely recommend this book if you enjoyed books like Darius the Great is Not Okay or The Ghosts We Keep (if you haven’t read those books you should!!! lol) or stories about grief and lots of family drama.

This book was such a great read. I loved getting to know the characters and seeing their lives unfold. The main character was easy to connect with and her grandmother, while intense, was a great example of strong characterization. I’m looking forward to recommending it to students!

I LOVED this book! Realistic fiction is not usually my jam, but I got an advance copy from Netgalley and half-heartedly decided to give it a go. I was hooked. Immediately. The characters are warm, vivid, and real,--I fell in love with Avery, her funny and relatable dad, her aloof mom, and most of all her cranky grandmother in the first few pages. As Avery tries to settle in and build a relationship with her grandmother, she discovers a decades-old mystery and family trauma that no one will talk about.
I'm buying this one for my library, recommending it for our high school battle of the books, and telling the other librarians about it.

I really loved this book, it had a somber but sweet tone. It felt very real and relatable. I loved the characters and how they grew together throughout the story. I loved the friendships, the relationships, and the learning. I really loved seeing her peel back the layers and find out so much about her family and its history. I liked the LGBT representation, especially navigating that in a small homophobic town.

The only thing that made no sense is that there was randomly a man mentioned named Todd Floyd and I have no idea what that had to do with the story, I thought it might be explained later on but it never was. That part needed to be cut out completely if it wasn't adding to the story in any way, and it just ended up creating confusion for the reader.

This book is hands down, one of the best pieces of young adult fiction that I have read this year. We Deserve Monuments is THAT book. Filled with a rollercoaster of emotions Jas Hammonds keeps you on your toes.

The book follows Avery, a biracial and queer teenage girl on her self-discovery journey.
After her family abruptly moves from Washington D.C. to Georgia to take care of her sick grandmother, she discovers what is truly important in her life. She also learns about her grandmother, family secrets, and genuine friendship.

TW: Topics and themes within this book consist of racism, homophobia, generational trauma, breaking generational curses, colorism, and white supremacy.

Hello hello my lovely readers,

Today's review is a bit different, because I'm taking part in the We Deserve Monuments Book Tour! The tour was organized by Hear Our Voices, an organization that helps books by marginalized authors get the promotion they deserve! So, besides my review, I'll also be posting a few of my favorite quotes.

Without further ado, here are my thoughts on We Deserve Monuments.

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds beautifully mixes first lesbian love and familial bonds without shying away from the difficult realities of being a Black person in the Deep South.

Avery and her parents are moving from Washington D.C. to Bardwell County, Georgia. Her maternal grandmother, Mama Letty, is dying. Avery's mom and Mama Letty have a very fractured relationship, but Avery wants to finally get to know her grandmother before she passes. That, however, proves to be a rather difficult task.

Mama Letty isn't the type of grandma who pinches your cheek and slips you candy. She's cantankerous, bitter, and generally unpleasant. But ever so slowly, her icy facade begins to melt.

Similarly, Avery begins to warm up to Bardwell. She meets Simone, a Black girl from across the street who is the embodiment of sunshine, and Jade, Simone's best friend, whose family owns the most profitable business in town while living on a plantation. Yes, she's white.

The two girls quickly absorb Avery into their friendship, and she's able to experience truly supportive friends for the first time in her life. They have a secret spot, a wishing tree, and are essentially my dream high school friend group. However, this book isn't all sweetness and sunshine.

As Mama Letty opens up to Avery, we learn that her family is drowning in generational trauma. This trauma echoes through the women of the family, and when the full truth is revealed, Avery's life is changed forever.

And now, I present to you a few of my favorite quotes.

"But it was fleeting and faint, vanishing like a dream dissipating with sunrise"(loc 154).
"My anger faded slightly when my gaze landed on her thick thighs; they filled every inch of her jean shorts. Of course I followed her"(loc 193).
"Even at midnight, the girl made of sunflowers lit up the entire world"(loc 1335).
"Because magic was actually two shades of lipstick staining a shared straw in a class Coke bottle. Magic was sweat-slick dancing to mantle-deep beats, magic was renaming constellations after Black women because who else could be worthy? Magic was a riverside home with a big, beating heart"(loc 2776).
Both painful and heartwarming, We Deserve Monuments will hold readers to the very last page in a tight yet loving embrace.

Final rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟