I dislike this trope. I dislike that this even has to be a conversation around race, but I think that’s the point. It awakened many negative feelings, but I really think the low review is based on the outlandish yet somehow obvious path the plot took. I’ll be sitting in these feelings, but can confidently say my rating won’t change.

Plot: What is Blackness? what does it mean to be Black? Is there a such thing as a Black utopia, will that ever exist?

Pace: Fast — very easy to get to the first 50% and makes it so intriguing you can’t wait to see how it ends.

POV: 3rd Person

Review: I would recommend this book for everyone really — Black people and for those who aren’t. This novel was very thought provoking as a Black woman. I often flashed back to my own experiences when protesting or experiencing racism (both micro and macro aggressions) while reading. I think this would be perfect for all of us to reflect on and how we show up or don’t in those instances. There is a pull and tug of always doing the work vs having peace. Could we ever truly know what rest and peace is, if someone in our community, some one we know, or love — even us personally — is experiencing cruel injustice? How can both realities exist — how can we experience peace when we still struggle?


TLDR: Overall very well written, thought-provoking book that I recommend EVERYONE to read. Exploring what Blackness means, and can peace ever truly be obtained?

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers (Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor) for allowing me to read the ARC of this novel and leave an unbiased review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for gifting me a digital ARC of the adult debut novel by Nicola Yoon. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 3.5 stars.

Jasmyn and King Williams move to the planned Black community of Liberty, California, hoping to find like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. Where all the police and shopkeepers are Black, so they don't have to deal with profiling. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the wellness center at the top of the hill, which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world’s troubles.

I was really anxious to read this book - it was billed as a Stepford Wife/Get Out thriller. I really liked the way this book made me more aware of all the struggles of Black people in everyday life. I liked the tension of wondering just exactly what was going on, although you definitely could make some good guesses. But take this from an older white woman - while all white people were definitely portrayed as racist, it felt like it also did a disservice to Black people. It seemed to stress only negatives about being Black. While Jasmyn was trying to do all she could to advocate for her race, she put down others she felt weren't doing enough. She was judgy of the way other Black women wore their hair. And the ending? Well...while obvious, it is sad to think that would be what Blacks need to be truly happy. So definitely a mixed bag for me!

I am still stewing on who the intended audience is in this novel. Ultimately, it is a satirical take on racism, the response to 2020, and the "racial reckoning," particularly in LA. Space and place are integral to the understanding of the message, but ultimately, the ending did not land and was too extreme, I wonder who Yoon is upset with.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sharing a digital copy of this book. I have previously read this authors work and was super excited to go on this journey.

Sadly, this book did not do it for me at all. There is a central message that the reader is slapped with over and over again, that the black identity in American can only be authentic if it is wholly steeped in racial trauma. Any experience outside of racial and police trauma is inauthentic to blackness and should not be labeled as such. There is no joy, no peace, no self-care, so rest, only trauma and fighting against racial injustice. To be happy outside of victories against racism is to betray your blackness and neglectful of the community work that needs to be done. To indulge in self-care, and disconnect from the experience of trauma, is to become white. This I believe, is a very harmful narrative and I am very confused about who the intended audience was for this work. Ever so often, there are valid points sprinkled within the book about the eurocentric beauty standards, but those are lost amongst the larger problematic anti-black measurements of the side characters level of Blackness.

I think that this could have been a nice thriller, but it completely missed the mark for me.

*Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

If you didn't say "what the fuck" multiple times during this book, I don't think this is the book for you. It's Get Out meets The Stepford Wives, all crammed into a speculative thriller set in an all Black suburb. I was hooked from the get-go and the discussion about the cycle of trauma was illuminating. The audio was great, even with having to narrate text exchanges frequently. You could really feel the emotion in the narration.

The twist at the end was just BAFFLING to me though. This just has to be satire or some kind of cautionary tale because it just *can't* end like that.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy of One of Our Kind, Nicola Yoon’s adult debut. This one just hit the shelves this week!

Unfortunately, as a white woman, I don’t feel like I’m the best voice to review this book - I would urge reader to please check reviews from other persons of color, as I feel like they have a more appropriate opinion. That being said, this was built as a “get out” style story, but there was a lot of anti-blackness in this book, and I don’t feel like my voice is the appropriate one to post a review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy in exchange for these honest thoughts.

I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I did like this book in an “OMG!” kind of way. So many people were upset and outraged by this story, and it was definitely extremely out there. I think the author did this on purpose, not to offend but to make her point and shock people on the social inequities and racism still existing today. A modern, societal horror story with an awful ending. Love it or hate it, an excellent book for starting serious discussions on important issues.

I was really looking forward to Yoon’s adult debut but unfortunately this one didn’t really work for me. the bones of the story are interesting and there could’ve been a great novel in there somewhere, but it felt like she’s still stuck in her YA writing habits. there’s important social commentary but she hits you over the head with it in such an obvious way, i prefer more nuance with things like that, and the story itself became convoluted and hard to follow.

I was really looking forward to Yoon’s adult debut but unfortunately this one didn’t really work for me. the bones of the story are interesting and there could’ve been a great novel in there somewhere, but it felt like she’s still stuck in her YA writing habits. there’s important social commentary but she hits you over the head with it in such an obvious way, i prefer more nuance with things like that, and the story itself became convoluted and hard to follow.

One of our kind is a dystopian social thriller.. Jasmyn and king move their family to a black gated utopia called liberty, they believe this will be a great place for their family, as they will be surrounded by other black families with similar views.

However, all is not what it seems in Liberty and Jasmyn begins to grow concerned that they are trapped by this community for a particular and nefarious reason…

I actually really enjoyed this book. Yoons writing is crisp and the plot flows and is easy to follow. The plot moves fast, as the reader wants to discover what is happening in liberty, The reveal is actually horrific and I know there is a social commentary yoon is making (I won’t go into too much detail so as not ruin anything).

My main issue is with the characters-none are particularly sympathetic and very few are fully realized characters.

Overall, a solid page-turner with deeper implications.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this arc via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon is a wonderfully entertaining story.
I absolutely loved everything about this book!
I truly enjoyed Yoon’s writing style. I was hooked immediately and read this in two sittings.
This was such a wonderful adult debut.

Thank You NetGalley and Knopf for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

If I could give this zero stars I would. This book is harmful and anti-Black and I will tell you why:

1) you have a main character who has clear (and problematic) ideas of what it means to be a Black person. Relax your hair? Not Black enough. Don't watch videos of police brutality of murder of Black people? Not Black enough. Don't wear a fro? Hand in your Black card. Jasmyn is not like Issa Rae: she isn't rooting for everyone Black, only the ones she deems Black enough. And all of that makes it hard to root for her, hard to like her. She is more than an "unlikeable main character" she is actually a horrible human.

2) The entire plot of Black people turning white in order to succeed. I feel like I am trying to understand where Yoon is going with this: that Black folks can self-sabotage, that the ways that we try to assimilate are hurting us in the end, that there is no such thing as a Black utopia. But she missed the mark imo. Because what she is showing is that in order of us to survive we need to be white. Also that Blackness is skin, accent, and culture. WHICH IS WILD TO ME. And so reductive. Again, I feel like I kind of understand where she was going with this but it feels so problematic and anti-Black to say that whiteness is the above all. That we can't beat them at their own game so let's play it by becoming them.. The comps to Get Out are both understandable and wildly unfounded: Get Out was subtle and also hit you over the head with the point that to white people, Black folks are just body parts, just a sex, just athleticism. The white folks are the villains. And in this book? The villains are us.... but still ultimately catering to white folks. It made me ill.

3) The husband, the side characters. Everyone was one-dimensional. Her husband? TRASH YOU HEAR ME TRASH. What he did to their child?! No sir. Murdered. I would've killed him. All the secondary characters were like charicatures - that one friend who had the art gallery and was doing the fists all the time like did Nicola know Black people when writing this book? It feels like every person is a stereotype. They all gave us nothing and added nothing to the story

4) The violence by police was not only ripped from the headlines it literally was the headlines. Just using different people's names. Talk about commodifying the murder of Black people! Just again disgusting

I have enjoyed Yoon's previous YA books but this one? Absolutely horrible, offensive, disgusting and anti-Black.

GENERAL INFO

One of Our Kind-a standalone

Publication date: 6-11-24, Read 6-13-24

Format: e-Book, 256 kindle

🙏🏾Source: Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for this ARC💜! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Genre: Adult Fic, Multicultural /AA Interests, Mystery/Thriller, Dystopia, Horror

Tropes: racial profiling, police brutality, black utopia, mentorship, protest

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary: Jasmyn, Kingston "King," and their six year old son Kamau Williams move to Liberty, CA-an all black, wealthy, and gated, community. This suburb operates with all black inhabitants, and has a mysterious "wellness center" that everyone loves except Jasmyn. She gets weird vibes from the neighbors/co-founders, and believes more than spa treatments go on at the wellness center. When she deep dives into the town's history, she discovers its sordid past. Will she convince her family to leave, or be stuck in a cult-like existence?

Flashbacks: Jasmyn and King reminisce about their humble beginnings in Compton, and not making enough money to make ends meet.

AUTHOR OVERVIEW

Nicola Yoon- new to me author, but I've seen Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star- both good movies..

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 4 ⭐

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: yes

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

COMMENTS/NOTES: If "Get Out" wasn't already made this would have been a great movie. Liberty, California was a character that has some fearsome secrets. It was interesting hearing Nina Marks, a psychiatrist, talk about the "experiment," but any kind of mind manipulation would be a red flag. Keisha was on to something but waited too long to get out of town. Jasmyn wouldn't believe what was really going on and that her dutiful husband King was involved. I don't want to even think about what AI could do to us.

"One of Our Kind" by Nicola Yoon is a gripping page-turner that delves deep into the heart of race in America. It's worth reading for the emotional resonance of the characters, but doesn't dive much deeper than it's promised premise of "Get Out meets Stepford Wives".

I can't speak on the Black experience, so I encourage you to read reviews by Black individuals.

There are a lot of comparisons to Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives, and it's not just the theme--One of Our Kind follows The Stepford Wives almost beat for beat, modernizing the story and trading gender for race. No problem with that, I'm all for updating the classics, and One of Our Kind has a grim ending that reflects The Stepford Wives' ending.

Some of my issues:
* Yoon really holds your hand through the whole book. The ending is basically told to you in the first few chapters.
* Jasmyn and King have a son, Kamau, who disappears when his presence isn't needed. I don't need an accounting of every minute of his life, but at least don't leave us wondering!

One of Our Kind feels like a 2020s reimagining of The Stepford Wives, a 1970s book in which a woman who moves to an upscale community realizes that there is something terribly wrong with all the wives, who seem too perfect to be true.

One of Our Kind had some interesting elements, with the story replacing a Black woman and her family moving into a upscale Black community where everyone seems a bit off. But by the end I was pretty confused about what point the author was trying to make. Without spoilers it is hard to say more. While I loved the idea of this reimagining, and maybe it will spark some interesting book club discussions.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

One of our Kind by Nicola Yoon is a third person-POV speculative thriller exploring race and privilege. When Jasmyn and her husband, King, move to the all-Black gated community of Liberty, Jasmyn has a few concerns and those concerns only grow the longer she stays. Something's not right in Liberty or in the rest of America.

Jasmyn is a lawyer and an activist, doing a lot for her community by showing up to protests and vigils and looking to set up a BLM chapter in Liberty. Her work and the news often show her the worst parts of anti-Black racism in America, but she refuses to stop fighting. When members of the Liberty community push back on this, we get to see not only differing opinions, but Jasmyn’s internal monologue towards that pushback. This gets further complicated when Jasmyn is frustrated with a community member for not wanting to join a vigil for a survivor of police brutality only to learn that said community member’s brother was murdered by the police when she was a teenager.

King sometimes accuses Jasmyn of being judgemental and expecting all Black Americans to think the exact same way. It's both frustrating and reflective of reality. On the one hand, yes, marginalized communities are allowed to have differing opinions and we should welcome diverse thought and perspectives within our communities to make sure we're doing the right things and focusing on what's important instead of policing each other into one ‘correct’ way. But, at times, it does feel a bit dismissive when King focuses on that particular aspect when Jasmyn is really trying to point out that something feels wrong.

My favorite parts were Jasmyn's moments with her young son. He's full of joy and innocence and we can see her and King wanting to protect that innocence while being painfully aware of the world outside their house.

The Stepford Wives meets Get Out premise works extremely well for a thriller and kept me engaged throughout to see what Jasmyn was going to do next. I really appreciated the emphasis on Black hair and how that informed Jasmyn's initial impression of others while also pointing out how Black hair was viewed for a long time as unprofessional in many workplaces.

I would recommend this to readers of thrillers with strong social commentary, fans of the film Get Out, and those looking for a novel that delves into the POV of a Black mother trying to make a safe place for her children.

This book is difficult to review. I was unsettled by it, found a lot of it to be problematic, yet enjoyed it for what it was. At the heart of this book is the discussion of blackness in America and the injustices of the system compared to that of whiteness. One of the characters is very vocal and pushy about her activism and support of groups such as BLM, almost in an over the top way. And then there are characters who avoid discussion of anything negative or surrounding racism, again in an over the top way that sometimes comes across as anti-black. It seemed to me to be a look at the spectrum that is blackness and how it’s not just the color of your skin that makes you black but also the experiences you have, how you’re treated, etc. The ending was troubling and wild and heartbreaking. Overall I enjoyed this book.

I have been a fan of Yoon's YA work and was excited to see that she was publishing her first adult novel.

Jasmine & King purchase a new house in Liberty, California - an all Black neighborhood, hyped as a Black utopia. This book was a quick read, but it left me wondering about the premise. The first half of the book seems like a social justice piece about race and culture. The second half is more mystery/thriller about changes in the residents of Liberty. I'm not really sure what the intention behind this book was. It left me with a negative connotation of the Black families in the novel, feeling as if they were trying to erase their Blackness. It seemed to value assimilation over cultural pride and I do not think this was the author's intention.