"Sixteen-year-old Beau Willet has dreams of being an artist and one day leaving the Chicago projects she's grown up in. But after her older sister, Katia, is killed by an off-duty police officer, Beau knows she has to clear her sister's name by finding the only witness to the murder; Katia's no-good boyfriend, Jordan, who has gone missing. If she doesn't find him and tell the world what really happened, Katia's death will be ignored, like the deaths of so many other Black women who are wrongfully killed.

While The Black Girls Left Standing, wasn't anything extraordinary I did enjoy the read. The narrative follows a young girl's journey as she grapples with the tragic loss and mystery surrounding her sister's death at the hands of the police, seeking solace and justice through the powerful medium of art.

What struck me most was the novel's exploration of grief through the lens of a young artist. The protagonist's desire to create a mural as a tribute to her sister's memory introduces a fresh perspective on coping with loss. The fusion of art and activism adds depth to the narrative, offering a poignant commentary on the pressing issue of police violence.

While the overall plot and characters may tread familiar ground, the unique approach to addressing societal issues through the eyes of a budding artist is where the novel truly shines. The author's choice to navigate such a sensitive topic in this way brings a level of authenticity and relevance to the story.

""The Black Girls Left Standing"" may not break entirely new ground, but it does manage to weave a compelling tale that resonates with the times. It's a thought-provoking journey through grief, art, and the pursuit of justice that adds an important voice to the ongoing conversation surrounding social issues. If you're looking for a book that explores the power of creativity in the face of adversity, this one is worth a read."

This one was just okay for me. Had I not had the audiobook I might have DNFed it. I think it was just the writing style that didn't mesh for me.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Great and important young adult book. Love reading books that i can connect with like this. would reread

This is a fantastic YA contemporary that includes issues of race, socioeconomic status, coming of age, changing relationships with friends and family, and an awareness of in/visibility.

Beau, the m.c., is at her sister Katia's funeral when the novel begins, and it's clear from the initial moments that Beau has a lot of trouble to get into and a lot of nebulous issues to sort. Katia's death is the impetus for Beau's internal and external investigations, but finding answers to that situation is only part of Beau's process. Throughout the novel, Beau grapples with memories of Katia, disappointments brought about by stresses in their relationship, some level of displacement (because it's easy to blame a lot on a shady partner, and her friendships and relationships with surviving family members. Beau also thinks about her socioeconomic status quite a bit and considers how this facet of her identity shapes her and differentiates her from others in her circle. In a situation that is fortunately not as relatable for most young readers (putting together the pieces of their sibling's death), Beau is an extremely relatable character and one for whom it is easy to root.

From the cover and blurb, I expected that what I'd love most about this book is the treatment of race. While this is a standout feature, there's so much more to love than may initially meet the eye. I also fervently recommend the audiobook. The narration adds so much here. Goodman is definitely on my to-watch and to-read list, and I suggest that other YA lovers follow suit.

Absolutely love this book. The narrator is really what sold it for me and brought the story to life. It gave me THUG vibes, another book I loved. I was rooting for Beau to come to terms with her sister's murder and loved the amateur detective angle to the book. The relationship between her and Champion felt real and i enjoyed the different dynamics between Beau's friends, depending who she's hanging out with. Highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great book. I loved the story and the characters, however, I was left wanting more. I don't know if there will be a sequel, but this book could use one. I'd like to see some of the plotlines tied up a bit better.

This book reminded me a lot of The Hate U Give. Any readers who enjoyed that book/movie will definitely enjoy this book. It was a real glimpse into the world of a teenage black girl living in the projects. I don't know much about living in the projects or being a black teenager, but this book felt authentic to me. Maybe others who have lived these circumstances would disagree, but as a poor white girl who grew up in a slummy apartment complex, I felt like I could relate to an extent (obviously not to the fullest extent). This is a powerful story and I'm glad I read it. It's definitely written as a YA novel and reads like that, but it was a really good story that adult readers will enjoy too.

The audio was fantastic. One of the best narrators I've ever heard. She really brought Beau and her friends to life. Loved it. Four stars.

#TheblackGirlsLeftStanding by @julianawroteit is what I finished on audio a few days ago. Many rhanks to @macmillan.audio for a chance to read and review.
This story opens with 16 year old Beau grieving the loss of her older sister, murdered by police violence. Her sister Katia was on a porch in the middle of the night, and was shot dead by the policeman that lived there who claimed she and her boyfriend were attempting to break in. Not only is Beau's life left in tatters by the loss of her sister, but the rage and disbelief of the story leads her down a dangerous path. This story doesnt wrap up in a pretty little bow; her sister is dead, and there is no justice. Her parents are fighting constantly, her family falling apart. This story is so much about not just the tragedy and how to find peace afterwards, but also about family dynamics, the realities of poverty, the dangers and spots of joy found in the projects, friendship, and forgiveness. This story really was spot on with how different people deal with grief, and all of the strange thoughts you have when people are gone, like where are they now? This shell of a body isnt HER. Why did this have to happen? This was YA but didnt read as YA, as these "kids" really didnt have much time to be kids, as it often goes when your parents are overwhelmed with grief themselves, or the other plights they suffer from.
As bleak as this sounds, things do look up for Beau in interestingly fate-ish types of ways, that make you wonder how events are interconnected. Did X have to happen in order for Y&Z to occur? Makes you wonder.
I enjoyed this so much, please give it a listen for well fleshed out characters, and a plot that keeps it moving, you wont want to put it down!
#ya #policebrutality #theprojects #hopeintheprojects #intrasocialstatusfriendships
#friends #copingwithdeath #copingwithpolicebrutality
#policeBiasKills #BLM

My emotions were all over the place with The Black Girls Left Standing. We open the story at the funeral of Beau's older sister Katia after what seems like yet another casualty from police brutality. In the wake of this tragedy, this family is left to pick up the pieces, and Beau is feeling the pressure of being the glue. How can one make it through a trauma such as this?

The Black Girls are always forced to stay standing. Black girls feeling the brunt of family trauma. Black girls being played and used in relationships by the men they love. Dead Black girls' names we don’t say. Black girls from the hood that are reduced to where they come from and their limited opportunities. Black girls that are forced to be strong.

The Black Girls Left Standing tackles issues for younger readers such as police brutality, gang violence, structural poverty, and navigating code switching between different worlds. These are lofty goals for a YA novel, and while these issues were conveyed in ways everyone is able to understand, sometimes it felt to me like tackling all these issues with the backdrop of Beau acting as her own teen detective felt like it was doing too much. Many of the conflict situations felt as if they were forced into the story in order to illustrate more points about these issues.

What is important about The Black Girls Left Standing is that it does a good job highlighting how all these issues can cause a myriad of emotions inside of people and how different people have different, and oftentimes conflicting, solutions to how to solve these problems. It brings up how often Black women and girls are left out of conversations surrounding Black Lives Matter and police brutality. We get an intimate look at how the family is affected when their murdered loved one has their reputation shredded apart.

I will admit, it was difficult for me to get lost in the story, but that may be because of my own prejudices. I caught myself thinking “This narrator isn’t hood enough to read for this main character,” but I quickly asked myself what I meant by that. This book challenged a lot of the prejudices I had toward this book set in public housing, a lot of it rooted in internalized racism. However, sometimes I felt as if the story itself was strengthening those stereotypes. It felt like a PSA for the dangers of getting involved in gang life, which felt banal. It’s difficult to write a novel set in the Black ghetto that explores everyday life and survival without casting a shadow.

We get to sit in the discomfort of not knowing the right answers to a lot of questions. Each character has flaws that we don’t get to see neatly resolved by the end of the book. This is what makes The Black Girls Left Standing mirror real life.

Even though I had my difficulties meshing with this story completely, I would still recommend The Black Girls Left Standing. There are very important pieces young Black girls need to pick up. The writing and descriptions were beautiful. I recommend it to Black girls looking for something different in their lives.

The Black Girls Left Standing starts with the funeral of Katia Willet and tells the story of her younger sister Beau. As Beau navigates her mourning, it's clear that's not an easy task when racial injustice, socioeconomic disparity, and teenage drama doesn't pause for grief. Part true crime investigation, part finding your voice, and 100% rooted in the gray, complications of life. This powerful work of contemporary fiction doesn't follow a nice, neat tied-with-a-bow narrative. It's honest in the way it approaches the often incomplete resolution that exists in this world.

Audiobook notes: The audiobook is AMAZING! Beautiful, easy to follow narration.

The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman was a powerhouse story!
Woah! If you read one book all year let it be this one!
Not even playing yall! It's beautiful, raw, emotional, powerful and most of rewarding.
I loved everything this book had to offer!
The characters are outstanding and showed true determination and grit.
The writing is freaking phenomenal! I was hooked immediately and didn't want it to end!
The story is just WOW!! All I can is WOW!
The narrator was spot on.
I don't have one bad thing to say here!.
Im so honored to have had the chance to read this story and I can't wait to share it with others.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Macmillan Young Listeners,
Thank.You for this approved eARC!

Raw story about a young girls' struggles after her sister is killed by a policeman in company of her boyfriend, a known gang member. She works too clear her sisters name baccarat the policeman is let go and her sister is accused of being a drug dealer. Many ups and downs in her search show her parts of her sister she didn't really know; teach her what friendship is and who her real friends are; help her find out who she is and where she wants to go. Could've been a better read without so many F words but overall it was a great read. Deep. Raw. I could relate to so much of her feelings of frustration, with the system, with so called friends betrayals, with real friendships going through trials. Great story. Great insights.

I really enjoyed this audiobook written by Juliana Goodman. It tells the story of Bo, a black teenager from the projects who takes the detective work related to the murder (by police) of her sister into her own hands, risking her life and the lives of her friends and family in the process. The author and narrator did a great job conveying the fear and other emotions felt by the main character at different points in the story, as a result it was a hard book to put down! I would recommend this book to young adults who are interested in hearing stories about strong black youth and social justice issues related to the BLM movement, discrimination, racism and police brutality. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook!

In my opinion, this is the tale of the first few phases of grieving. It has an air of mystery and is both beautiful and terrible. This book has some heartbreakingly honest descriptions of the world we live in, and as a result, I found myself feeling a deep sense of disappointment and sadness. Even while the reality presented herein is difficult to avoid, the novel would not have achieved its stunning quality without it. In short, I am overjoyed that I was given the opportunity to read this. I was afraid this book would make me miserable, but instead I found it to be a work of great beauty in many respects. Absolutely everything about it was perfect for me.

The black girls left standing is a beautiful portrayal of the aftermath of police brutality. The poignant displays of grief and changed family dynamics nearly had me on my knees. This book gets it: the revenge fantasies, the anger, the strained familial and peer relationships. Even through the lighter portions of this book there is always an undercurrent of something missing…someONE missing. I highly recommend this books (but please check triggers before diving in)

I deeply feel like this is the story of the stages of grief at least the first few. It's beautiful and painful, lined with a dash of mystery. There are parts in this book so real and true that they heart, that my heart was aching so deeply I was disappointed by the world we live in. It's hard to run from, but this book wouldn't be the beauty that it was without the truth that lined these pages. I throughly enjoyed this one and I am so happy I was able to read it. I was so worried this book would just make me sad, but it was so beautiful in so many ways. I loved it in every aspect.

4.5 stars rounded down.

This is a wonderful and engaging contemporary, own voices, debut, YA novel. The reader is told an emotional story across a nonlinear timeline of the events leading up to, and following, the murder of the main character's sister. Our main character, Beau, is a young Black girl from Chicago who, while processing her grief, is also desperately trying to understand the circumstances surrounding the murder of her older sister, Katia, by local police. She and her friend find themselves in more and more dangerous situations as Beau uncovers more about the events leading up to, and people involved in, her sister's murder.

This well written story keeps you engaged throughout its entirety and tackles topics (without glossing over the painful reality of such topics) of grief, institutionalized racism, gentrification, SES, police brutality (including minors), gang violence, bullying, and coming of age.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ariel Blake, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Sixteen-year-old Beau Willet is going through one of the worst situations imaginable—her older sister Katia was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer, and the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened that night has disappeared.

Motivated to make sure her sister's death doesn't just become a passing headline, Beau and her friend Sonnet begin to dig into the case and search for Jordan, her sister's boyfriend who was with her that night. This is a hard read/listen, so definitely check out trigger warnings beforehand...but the author did a good job with the story and kept me interested in what happened at the end. You'll feel the unease/frustration/anger of yet another unjust situation that seems to get worse and worse, which means Juliana Goodman did her job well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners for this audio-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I am not sure if it is the writing or the narrator, but man they are really trying to push the slang to make the main character sound very "hood" (this is the term they used on repeat).

I am not sure that many of my students could relate to this book. This book is about a uppity art school- my students go to a 90% free and reduced lunch district. I feel like this really narrows down the amount of kids who could relate to the book. Also, I watched Pretty Little Liars in 2011, I am not sure many of the kids reading this will know or understand the references to this in the book.

I did like that the cop on black crime was not the main focus on the book. It was all about Beau overcoming the loss of Katia and coming to the answsers she needs to continue on with her life.

This was a wonderful debut. Following Beau as she struggles through the aftermath of her sister being killed by an off-duty police officer. She navigates so many things - suddenly being an only child, not fully knowing what happened that night, judgment from others when Katia doesn't turn out to be "the perfect victim". This story is very of our world right now. It may spark necessary conversations in book clubs, amongst friends and family, and in society as a whole. The more people who read this, the better.

I receive this book from the publisher through netgalley.com I am voluntarily leaving this review.

I had to sit with this one for a minute. What a powerful book. As someone who just lost a twenty year old child to drugs less than a year ago this one hit home. The grief in this book is so powerful and raw it brought up a lot for me. I felt the characters emotions, understood why the mother couldn't get out of bed and the father who couldn't stay in the house. I understood Beau's need to clear her sisters name, for Beau, she needed to know the why for closure. Unfortunately some of us don't get that but this was a book and it was so well done.

So many topics were touched on in this book, race, economic inequality, privilege, its all there and its powerful. The narrator was fantastic and really brought me into the story. I sometimes forgot that it was an audio book I could see the story unfolding so vividly in my head.