In large part, this is a pretty standard mystery with a veneer of social justice. It is interesting to me that this book is really only tangentially about a police shooting or violence against People of Color. It's really primarily about grief. There is some interesting exploration of perception, guilt, and public outcry. There's enough substance to the plot to make it worth reading and discussing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I loved how the author explored Beau’s vulnerability, pain, grief, anger, and her relationships after her sister Katia was murdered. I really enjoyed the complexity that was explored in being sad and angry at the person who died. The intricacies of how grief shows up differently for everyone Whereas her mother burrowed into herself and her father started coming around more, Beau finds herself trying to find answers to what happened that night. There were so many real-life themes throughout this book, starting with police brutality and the reality of the victims being vilified to make their deaths digestible to the public and showcase that they "deserved" it.
I really wish we had gone deeper into the process of seeking justice. I felt that the issue at hand was glanced over, and the book spent too much time vilifying Jordan and Katia, which was way too similar to how real-life events play out.
The ending happened too smoothly for me. In all honesty, I would not have forgiven Deja. I cannot be the bigger person in that situation. That was foul of her, especially as her best friend.
Thank you, Netgalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Feiwel & Friends for the eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing for providing me a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book hits on some very real topics that are unfortunately still relevant today. The subject matter is heavy but Juliana Goodman writes in such a way that it doesn't overwhelm the reader. Well written and on point. This book is a must read.

I thought there were some really good elements to this, Juliana Goodman writes characters that feel like people she either knows or has observed, and Beau's anger and grief leap off the page. To me, the whole thing wrapped up just too neatly and nicely, and I felt like there were some jumps to events or jumping over things that made the plot a little confusing

Holy cow.
There is so much power in this book and it leaves you hooked from the beginning.

Katia is murdered by a cop and no one cares to get to the bottom of it- except her sister Beau. Beau will do ANYTHING to clear Maria’s name- even if that means tracking down the only witness to her murder; Maria’s boyfriend Jordan, who’s only skill is being trouble.
The thing is- Jordan is missing. And if Beau can’t find him and get him to tell the truth, then no one will know what really happened to Katia on the night of her murder. But the more Beau looks into Katia’s murder, the more trouble she finds herself into. Soon- her sisters funeral may not be the only one her family plans.

So many issues are brought to light in this book, and due to that you need to be an informed reader going into it. Listen to POC reviewers voices and take into account the characters and how their stories may relate to the stories in real life- because a lot of these issues affect real people too.
In a way, this novel is a coming-of-age debut about life being shattered enough for you to finally see it for how it is. Julianna depicts it beautifully and doesn’t beat around the bush about how it feels to realize how you once viewed things may not be how it actually is.

I thought there were some really good elements to this, Juliana Goodman writes characters that feel like people she either knows or has observed, and Beau's anger and grief leap off the page. To me, the whole thing wrapped up just too neatly and nicely, and I felt like there were some jumps to events or jumping over things that made the plot a little confusing.

Thank You NetGalley and Macmillian for this read. I'll say it because I haven't seen anyone say that Juliana Goodman will become the next Angie Thomas. I just wish the push for this story was way more than what was given for it. The story is a story black people and poc know all too well.

Beau's sister Katia is killed by an off-duty police officer, and her story is glossed over by the media. Outraged that her sister's death didn't get the attention she deserved, Beau begins searching for Katia's missing boyfriend, Jordan, believing he holds information that will clear Katia's name and hold the officer accountable.

"The Black Girls Left Standing" had such a promising premise, and while I enjoyed Beau's story and her journey through grief, I felt the story wrapped up too quickly and left me feeling underwhelmed.

I feel conflicted about this story. On the one hand, Goodman shines light on an all too real situation that many people find themselves in. She also describes grief in real, diverse ways. However, I never quite engaged with the main character but I understood why she acted the way that she did. The story, the plot, while different, feels so similar to several other books I have read recently. I never became fully invested but it's not a bad book.

The Black Girls Left Standing had me turning the pages and empathizing with the main character. The main character is Beau, and as the novel begins Beau is at her sister Katia's funeral. Katia was shot and killed by a white off duty police officer who thought she was trying to break into his house. The family is looking to press charges but there are also rumors of drug sales and drug use which does not work in their favor. All of this is devastating for Beau, and she becomes determined to clear her sisters name.

Beau and her family are from a lower economic status. She has been fortunate this year to attend a school in another town that has a strong focus on art. When the shooting occurs, she tries to avoid discussing it in school because she doesn't want to have the reputation of the being the sister of the Black girl who was murdered by a cop. This type of reputation carries alot of stigma and Beau already feels a stigma from being of a lower economic class. It doesn't take long though before her two worlds really blending together.

The character of Beau holds alot of anger. She is angry at herself for not being there for her sister; angry at her sister for being in a position that got her shot; angry with her parents for not being there; and she is angry that her life often feels like a dead end road. Beau uses art as a way to express her feelings. She is very talented. I wish I could have seen some of the drawings that were described. I really enjoyed the way that this book was layered in terms of the way that it looked at race and economic status.

By searching for the truth, Beau puts herself into danger. It starts with the Twitter account that she and a friend start as a way to get anonymous answers. Each hint they get seems so real but, there are also messages warning them away from the truth. Throughout all of this Beau is experiencing mixed emotions. She doesn't want to put her friends or herself in danger but, she's afraid that if she doesn't speak up then her sisters name will be forgotten. She also really believes that the key to this mystery is finding Jordan (Katia's boyfriend) as it is believed he was with her the night she was shot. I could feel Beau's dislike for Jordan jump off the page the first time she talked about him. She truly believes that he is the reason that her sister died - and that if he had never come around she would still be alive and sharing a bedroom with her sister.

It's honestly hard to believe that this is the debut of Juliana Goodman. It is so wonderfully written. The conversations, actions, and emotions all felt real. She paints the grief that Beau and her family are experiencing so that it is seamless. I really did feel like I was experiencing the seven stages of grief along side Beau. Especially feelings of anger and desperation. While these characters are grieving life is still going around them - it does not stop because of their grief. There is still school, friendships, relationships, violence, gangs, drugs, parental abandonment, low wages, rumor etc. - all of this does not stop. The people that are still alive must continue to fight and through it all there are still The Black Girls Left Standing.

When Beau's sister, Katia, is killed by an off-duty police officer and isn't given the justice or attention she deserves, Beau takes matters into her own hands by investigating what her sister was really up to the night she died to clear Katia's name, while juggling a difficult home life with an absentee father and a mother so lost in her grief that Beau is left to hold the entire family together.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I was immediately hooked and intrigued to follow along with Beau's story. Unfortunately, my expectations may have been a little too high, and this book ultimately didn't quite reach them.

I did love the use of flashbacks in this book and that those flashbacks allowed us to explore Katia and Beau's relationship and get to know Katia as a character. As a younger sister myself, I really connected with Beau in those moments of looking up to her older sister and wanting to hang out with her and be just like her, and I definitely connected to seeing how your relationship with your sister changes as you get older. That was probably my favorite part of the story.

I did also appreciate how flawed the characters all were; I love seeing a cast of characters that each has their own unique flaws. It makes them relatable, but you can still root for them, which is important.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of flaws with this story. The pacing was incredibly slow for at least the first half of the book; it definitely took too long for the story to get on its feet with Beau trying to figure out what happened with her sister.

There was also a LOT of telling instead of showing, which as we know, is one of my biggest pet peeves. It's part of what contributed to the off pacing, in my opinion, how we'd speed through certain moments with a lot of telling instead of letting those scenes breathe, and then other scenes would be dragged out unnecessarily. And despite this being a "mystery," I predicted almost every plot point that occurred long before it happened, which did take some of the fun out of it; I wish there had been more actual mystery involved to help keep the reader invested.

Finally, the ending was resolved way too easily; the characters' relationships were way too easily repaired (view spoiler) and everything was wrapped into almost too neat of a bow. Not to say these characters didn't deserve a happy ending, I was happy to see Beau get a happy ending, but I just wish it had felt more earned instead of feeling forced as an easy way to wrap up the story.

While there were aspects of this story that I enjoyed, in the end, it just wasn't what I'd hoped for from this story after reading the synopsis.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a phenomenal read. I had been avoiding books, when I can, that involve any level of grief but as big as the loss & grief could've been, it didn't feel as heavy as it could've been. I was rooting for the MC the entire time and I wanted her to make all the things she wanted to happen. I appreciated the mystery in the story and I was trying to solve it at the same time. This book was brilliant and I truly appreciated it.

Read my review here: https://catstonebooks.com/2022/06/29/bite-sized-book-review-the-black-girls-left-standing/?v=400b9db48e62

This book is so important especially now and the way this book discussed race, socioeconomic status, and other important subjects really impressed me. This book follows Beau as she uncovers the truth about her sister's death and I loved every moment of it. Juliana Goodman did a fantastic job of really making me understand and feel what Beau was going through and as a black woman with a black sister this book really did hit me hard and there were even moments where I felt myself get emotional while reading. Although Beau was going through a very hard part of her life I liked that we also saw some aspects of her life that reminded us that she was a child such as her going through drama with friends and dealing with romantic feelings. At times I felt this book was a bit slow and I felt myself skimming through it but for the most part I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to others to read!

YA contemporary that is focused on a young black lady dealing with a death of a sister under the hands of the law enforcer. I would say, it is timely because of all the unrest with current times. A lot of sensitive topics with regards to race and socio economic standing. This was a free copy given to me for a review.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an early review.

Beau’s sister Katia was killed by an off-duty police officer and she’s determined to clear Katia’s name and try to get justice for her. That means doing everything to find the one person who knows what happened that night, Katia’s boyfriend Jordan who has gone into hiding. As Beau follows a series of tips, she’s forced to confront all the ways the world she lives in is unfair and begins to question whether anyone in her life really understands.

I really liked how this story wrapped up but it unfortunately took me months to get to that part. For much of this novel it was way too easy to put it down between chapters. There was nothing that made me feel like I needed to know exactly what would happen next. A lot of middle just sort of felt like filler to me including the entire Champion storyline.

I don’t think this was a poorly written story, just maybe not what I was personally looking for. This is probably still worth a read if the description sounds interesting to you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Black Girls Left Standing caught my attention with its provocative title and eye-catching cover. Both perfectly encapsulate the vibes of what are to be found within the pages: one part hard-hitting contemporary interrogating anti-Black racist violence (in the vein of previous titles, like The Hate U Give), one part intriguing mystery.
The structure of the book perfectly sums up the journey Beau goes on, reckoning with her grief in the wake of Katia’s death and looking back to the times they shared together, while also being motivated to find answers and get justice for Katia and other Black women who have also been wrongfully killed. The past informs the present, and while sometimes flashbacks can slow a story down, the pacing remained brisk and kept me continually invested.
Beau is a sympathetic lead, and an unfortunate example of how Black teens often have to grow up faster, especially when tragedy touches them and those with authority who did wrong aren’t held accountable for their transgressions against them.
This is a strong debut, and I’m excited for what’s to come. If you enjoy hard-hitting YA contemporaries with a mystery thread, you might enjoy this one.

The Black Girls Left Standing takes a look at the aftermath of a Black teen's murder by a white police officer. Beau's sister Katia is killed after they say she was accused of breaking and entering, but Beau knows her sister. She knows that Katia would never do something they accused her of. The only problem is that Jordan, Katia's loser boyfriend and the only witness to the crime, is missing. Beau and her friend hope to find Jordan, so they can clear Katia's name and make sure she doesn't become just another Black teen killed.

This book examines the life of one Black girl in the aftermath of her sister's death, and what Beau goes through is painfully real. My heart ached for Beau trying to navigate not only the death of her sister but also everything else life decides to throw at her after that. The fact that Beau feels like she has to act like an adult is an awful reality for many teens in the wake of tragedy. Their childhood is ripped from them, and they are forced to grow up almost instantaneously. The realness of this book is the hardest thing of all. Despite that, I think this is an important read for everyone, especially in light of all the recent news,

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.