Wow! This story grabbed me from page one and never let me go. Yoon's prose is always engaging and heartfelt, and her adult debut follows suit, albeit with a darker, twistier vibe. I enjoyed the slow-build and the permeating feeling that something was wrong... And then I was holding my breath for the last few pages. Wonderfully done and outright scary.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

One of Our Kind follows Jasmyn Williams as she and her husband move their family into an all-Black neighborhood hailed as a place of thriving community, safety, and peace.

Nicola Yoon is usually a strong hit for me, but unfortunately this book was a bit of a miss. The root of the issue, I think, was that I couldn't pin down what Yoon was trying to say. Our main character, Jasmyn, seems to define her Black identity mostly through trauma. She's a social justice activist who tries hard to push her community to action, and though this should be viewed as positive, she often ends up coming off as dismissive and overly judgmental of those who are unwilling or unable to take the same level of action she can. She frequently forces herself to bear witness to the atrocities committed against members of the Black community, and also explicitly judges the people around her for not bearing witness to every single piece of news about yet another brutalized person, regardless of their reasons. She obsesses over all of the bad things that can and do happen to Black people, often disbelieving any peace or joy other members of her community find. And more than all of that, the book almost seems to side with her.

With all of that, I thought that the final twist had the opportunity to be incredibly interesting, but it ultimately lacked the nuance it needed to execute its point. While the experience of being Black in America is arguably inextricably linked to an experience of frequent trauma -- whether that is being the victim of direct racist acts or being in community with those who are victims of direct racist acts, or simply living with the systematic disenfranchisement of Black people that this country continues to uphold -- it almost felt like this book was arguing that these things were the only unique identifiers, the only common threads, of the entire Black community. I do think that it is important to talk about trauma, and about the ways this influences community, but even with a couple final reveals for some of our supporting characters, I felt like the thematic meaning of this trauma remained largely unexplored. And beyond trauma, I think there should have been more moments in the narrative to explore other themes and questions, most especially: what is good about being Black? What are the parts of her identity and her community that Jasmyn finds joy and peace in? What are the ways forward that do secure meaningful peace, justice, and equality for everyone? Without an answer to these questions, it's hard to feel like the horrors of the final twist are horrors at all. Instead, it's almost as if the book has laid a path for the reader to think that Jasmyn might have come around to this "solution" eventually, and that's horrific to think.

I do think this book has a good idea, and good bones. I know Nicola Yoon is a talented writer, and there are some spectacularly written passages in this book that start to point in a stronger direction, towards tackling these incredibly complex ideas and feelings that the book seems hungry to explore. It's just that the book does not quite get there.

This was a thriller about the horrifying things that tragedy and trauma can make people do do. I feel like I should've seen the ending coming, but I guess I was just hoping for a different outcome.

I am not sure what to write about this book, it's dystopian and terrifying and the epilogue made me cry. This can't be the answer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I am a big Nicola Yoon fan. I've read all her YA and I was super excited to see what her dive into adult fiction would be like. So much so, I didn't even read the blurb for this one but just requested it because I was sure I would love it.
Unfortunately, this book left me confused and unsatisfied.
When I started reading it, I saw it's intent of the book: show the fear of what it's like to be a Black person in the United States; show that racism still exists; show that Black people feel as though they are being erased in one form or another. I was very interested to watch the book blossom. To learn things from the book that would help me understand what it's like to be Black in our country. And, at some points, it did. I felt the fear, I felt the uncertainty, I felt the injustice. But, I also felt lost. Even at 50% into the book, I really had no idea where it was going. Yes, I knew there was mystery and thrill to be had, but I had zero inkling of what that could even possibly be.
I definitely got the Stepford Wives vibes that I'm sure the author was going for. There's a sense of dread from the very beginning. You just know things are not going to end well.
I wasn't a fan of the FMC, Jasmyn. She didn't have much depth to her. I really wanted to be on her side and see where she was coming from but overall I just felt like her character missed the mark with helping me feel empathy and really understanding her plight. She comes across as very shallow. Her dedication to helping eradicate racism and help her community is commendable. At the same time, she is very judgemental and revolves her entire life around this change, so much so she judges others if they do not do what she does. As if her way of being Black was better than anyone who might choose a different path.
As for the other characters, I didn't understand, connect, or even really get to know them. They seemed very surface to me.
The pacing was quite slow though Yoon's writing is good. I'm not sure I agree with the third person point of view she provided. Perhaps a first person point of view would have helped me connect more with the main character as she told the story. There is a lot of guessing how others are feeling, what they are doing, etc. and I just found it annoying.
Yoon makes a statement with the theme of this book when it comes to being a POC in the United States and how that feels. I was hoping to learn and grow and see how I could find something that would help me better understand this point of view. But, in the end, I was just left feeling unsatisfied. Does it provide commentary on race and and class, sure. But it was really hard for me to connect with the characters.

One of Our Kind was a bit confusing regarding the message and meaning behind the authors writing. It had good moments, but overall, it wasn’t a book for me.

When Jasmyn and Kingston Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California they're both hoping to find a community of like minded people where their growing family can thrive. While her husband settles in and enjoys the benefits of the Wellness center the suburb offers, Jasmyn has trouble finding her place. She had hoped to find fellow liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty's residents are more concerned with spa treatments. As Jasmyn learns more about Liberty and its community, she can't help, but wonder there was an ulterior reason for moving here.

Phew.... Wow this book just left me speechless. Especially at the end. I struggle with what to really make of this book. I think Nicola Yoon did a great job in finally diving into Adult Fiction, but at the same time there was something about "One of Our Kind" that left me with more questions. I wonder what the overall intent with this project is, just because while this book was a "can't put it down" kind of book - and believe me, I couldn't put it down - I just felt that Jasmyn's character was a little flat. I understood her beliefs, her thoughts and her passions, but it almost felt as though her relationship with being Black was just the trauma surrounding it. It's almost as though the point of the book is to continue to emphasize all of the trauma that comes from being Black that ultimately when you're hit with jaw dropping, depressing end of this book you're like "okay that's what just had to happen." But that's not what one should get from the ending at all... I was sad, disgusted and upset with the ending and what became of Jasmyn and her family. However, I think it would not be difficult for a reader to misinterpret the ending, based on how much Jasmyn is left with thinking about trauma rather than all of the other things that come with being Black and apart of the Black community.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for an early edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC! I get what the author was trying to do with this book- a fear that blackness is being erased. That black people in America would save themselves from harm if they had the chance to. I am reminded of Dave chappelle stand up saying, "Blue Lives Matter? What? That is a uniform. You can take that off! If I could take my black skin off, I'd be out the game." This story is about Jasmyn and her family moving to Liberty, a 'black utopia" suburb of LA. All black population, very wealthy, with all black teachers, police, black mayor, black Santa Claus. There is some foreshadowing but I don't think I could have predicted the ending. I feel like this really missed the mark- qualities seen as white are better and there is a lack of "black joy" and culture. I will give it two stars because it isn't poorly written, good dialogue. In the acknowledgements she calls it a "Tragedy" but I didn't get that. It made me uncomfortable. Not in a good way. I like books like "Skin and Bones" and "Such a Fun Age" and "Rebecca not Becky" these are contemporary fiction novels that share racist themes and make me uncomfortable in a GOOD way, that challenges me.

This was not for me. The beginning was okay but so heavy handed in black trauma, then it started getting good with the suspense but then the ended was just not cool.

This book was marketed as a mix of Stepford Wives and Get Out and I could see the comparisons. There is a sense of dread at times though the novel and police violence and racism is discussed in a way that built the story and makes the reader think. The main character was hard to like, though, and very judgmental which subtracted from the overall book for me.

I love Nicola Yoon's YA romances. I was so excited for her first foray into adult novels, but this book was not for me. I did not enjoy it at all. The premise of an all Black utopian neighborhood where racism and police brutality weren't a constant danger sounded interesting, but having that idea set on a backdrop of hyper racism and police brutality was a difficult pill to swallow. The amount of violence committed against Black bodies outside Liberty was outrageous. And on top of that, our main character was very unlikeable at many points in this story. She challenged the choices that other Black people made that were in contrast to her own and that rubbed me the wrong way from jump, though I continued reading hoping for redeeming qualities for the main character, for the book, or even for the author at this point. There were none to be had. As the story progressed so did my anger and frustration with what the inherent message of this novel may have been. In the end, without giving away the mystery of it all, I was left feeling angry and hurt that this is what the solution to such a layered problem turned out to be.

Perhaps this story will resonate with some readers, but I came to the conclusion that it just was not for me.

I wasn't really expecting this at *all*

Someone marketed this to me as Stepford Wives meets Get Out and I think that works. This provides commentary on race and class; I'm unsure how to describe this without spoiling too much.

A lot to chew on, a lot to think about, a lot to process after finishing.

I really enjoyed this book, but sort of feel the need to preface that with the fact that I am not a BIPOC. I think that people are going to have very different reactions to this book based on their experiences specific to race. I found the discourse throughout the story very interesting and thought-provoking, but as someone who's no idea what it is like to be Black, I cannot be sure whether or not some, or all, of the storyline is truly good, bad, or somewhere in between.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sort of Stepford Wives take on racism. I both love and hate the storyline.

I have read other books by Nicola Yoon and found them provocative and intriguing. This one is no different. In a "Stepford Wives" type of community created and occupied only by wealthy African-American families, public defender and civil rights activist, Jasmyn, is having a difficult time adjusting. Although all her neighbors are also Black, they don't seem to be "in touch with their Blackness" and clearly don't share her commitment to social justice. And just what the heck is going on in the "Wellness Center"?

I am an older white woman, so maybe I'm not the target audience for this book. Or, maybe I am! Yoon is clearly making very important social commentary about racism in America, how devastating it is to African Americans, how white people ignore the trauma racism causes, and how some African Americans try to deal with it. I have read other books on this topic, and think that it is important for everyone to read them, no matter the emotional toll. This one, however, was a bit tedious and didactic. The author's point is driven home many, many times. Yes, I realized how my complaining about this makes me sound privileged and (probably) racist myself, but I think there might have been better ways to drive home the point the author is trying to make. I will keep looking for Yoon's books to read. This one was just not for me.

Nicola Yoon's adult debut is powerful, breathtaking, haunting, and spectacular in a way that I knew she would be capable of. I was blown away by this book.

I'm not quite sure what to say about this book, except it's more than influenced by The Stepford Wives, it's a direct copy of the concept, albeit framed in race and not 'wifely behavior'. And while I think I know the point that the author is trying to make, I walked away from this book feeling that it was extremely racist. Just suggesting that 'whiteness' was superior to being Black was insulting - again, I know this was being used to make a point, but I found it offensive that an entire community is built around feeling 'less than'. I am not a Black woman and I'm not going to pretend to fully understand the POV of someone who has to live with constant fear due to race, but I think it's legitimate to say that Jasmyn was a shallow character, that I would have liked to see deeper into her personality than just her strong activism. This was an entertaining story but maybe that wasn't enough in this case.

This ARC was provided by the publisher and NetGalley, the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for an eARC of this novel.

1 Star

I have quite a few thoughts about this novel. I understand the passion behind it, but I don't quite get the message. Spoilers ahead, but essentially, the novel ends with the black main character being turned white. Like what?? What is meant by that?

This whole book reminded me of a discussion I had in one of my literature classes. It boils down to the idea that tragedy can affect someone, but it is not all they are. I realize that there have been terrible things that have happened to black people in the US, and they are still happening. I also understand the history and the subtle racism that is quite literally everywhere. I will never fully grasp it since I have not been affected from it, but I know it exists, and I want it to change. But this main character surrounds her whole life around it. It is mentioned on just about every page, and there are a lot of heavy handed quotes that are joked about that I felt seemed like a lot.

The main character also casts a lot of judgments around her new community. While they were for a reason in the end, at first, the wellness center felt like a very petty thing. She would get on her husband for taking a break and not volunteering all the time because he wanted to take time to relax. I feel like that sends the message that if you are not trying to make a change 24/7 you are not a good person. That rubs me the wrong way for multiple reasons. There are also comments about women using relaxers in their hair a lot, and it just read as if the author felt that there was a correct and incorrect way to be black in America which seemed very strange to want in a published book.

Also, just book plot-wise, it is very slow, the stakes aren't very prominent until we understand the dark secrets literally within the last ten pages. I did not love the main character. A lot of the characters felt very one-dimensional, and what comments that her friends had not about racism, the state of their country, their town, etc. were all about sex. It felt very random and out of place. I felt as if this book just touched the surface of what critiques and emotions many have on this topic, but I was just left wondering what the purpose was.

Jasmyn and King Williams are excited to move their small family to the planned Black community of Liberty. While King and their young son adjust quickly, Jasmyn is struggling to feel settled and is also finding it difficult to connect with the most of the residents. Even in this community utopia where everyone is black, she keeps hearing and getting frustrated by the news about injustices still happening across the county and feels like she's the only one in her new environment who cares.

Jasmyn does end up making a few like-minded friends who are still activists for social justice, and they all connect over their spouses who seem to be embracing the 'laissez faire' attitude of the entire Liberty community. But as Jasmyn starts learning more about the community founders, she learns what everyone is trying to keep from her and she fears for what this could mean for her family.

Overally, I enjoyed the book and I do think it will be one that sticks with me for a while. I was intrigues by the description of "The Stepford Wives meets Get Out" but did find that being familiar with both of the movies did take me out of THIS story sometimes because of similar plot points.

For me, as a reader, this was incisive, fascinating, heartbreaking, and well written. However, I think readers and recommenders should seek out and consider the reviews being written by Black women who have concerns and take issue with the content as their interpretations are significantly different than my own.