I was excited to read Yoon's first book written for adults as she is one of my favorite young adult authors. The book started out strong but then became a science fiction/dystopian mess. I feel like this is worthy of reading just so it can be discussed. The race stuff is really messy and I'm not sure readers will take away what (I assume) Yoon would hope they take away from it.

I read this book in its entirety. I’m speechless….and that’s not a compliment. One star out of five.

"One of Our Kind" by Nicola Yoon ventures into the realm of speculative fiction, blending elements of "The Stepford Wives" and "Get Out" to explore themes of race, identity, and community. The novel follows Jasmyn and King Williams as they move to Liberty, California, a planned Black utopia where they hope to find a supportive and like-minded community. However, Jasmyn quickly realizes that Liberty is not what she expected. Instead of activists and social justice warriors, she finds residents more interested in spa treatments and luxury than addressing societal issues.

The story takes a dark turn as Jasmyn and her friends become increasingly uneasy with Liberty's seemingly perfect facade. The novel's strength lies in its premise and the initial intrigue it creates. The concept of a Black utopia and the examination of racial identity within such a setting are compelling and thought-provoking.

However, the execution falls short. Jasmyn, the protagonist, comes across as judgmental and one-dimensional. Her constant critiques of other Black women based on their hair and lifestyle choices feel out of place and detract from the story's potential depth. The portrayal of Blackness in the novel often feels reductionist, focusing heavily on trauma and suffering without balancing these themes with moments of joy or resilience.

The book's climax and resolution are predictable, and the message it ultimately sends is muddled. The idea that assimilation or changing one's identity is a solution to racial trauma is problematic and undermines the book's exploration of systemic issues.

While Nicola Yoon's writing is engaging, and the book is a quick read, "One of Our Kind" misses the mark in delivering a nuanced and impactful narrative. The potential for a powerful story is there, but it gets lost in the heavy-handed social commentary and underdeveloped characters.

In summary, "One of Our Kind" is an ambitious but flawed attempt to tackle important themes. It may resonate with some readers, but others might find it lacking in depth and coherence.

What's really going on in Liberty? What's with the Wellness Center? Jasmyn and her husband Kingston moved to the community for a sense of belonging but it's not working out that way. And she's pregnant. The Get Out/Rosemary's Baby vibes are definitely there but there's an underlying thread that made me uncomfortable in a way that's hard to describe. There's a fair amount of self-hate here. I appreciate what Yoon is trying to convey but it was heavy handed. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

I put this book off for a long time, because I wasn’t sure it was for me. This has pretty low reviews, and most of the one and two star reviews seem to be by Black people. They feel the Black author got it wrong, but I felt like this was fantastically creepy while also being very thoughtful.

Kingston, his pregnant wife Jasmyn and their six-year-old son Kamau have moved to the “Black utopia” of Liberty. Both from Compton, they are now very wealthy and can afford this type of community, but Jasmyn had doubts. She wants to keep her roots strong and not forget where she came from. As a Black woman and public defender, she sees inequality daily, and she’s a strong advocate for social change.

After an encounter with a white officer, she succumbs and agrees to move there, despite feeling guilt about her new lot in life. It doesn’t take long for her to realize the Black people in her new community are different (though she does meet a couple of like-minded activist friends).

Soon, Jasmyn realizes that not everyone in Liberty is like her. They can’t get anyone to join their new Black Lives Matter group, most of the people who live there pass the “paper bag test”, most of the women relax their hair, the neighborhood Wellness Center has armed guards and locking rooms, a plastic surgeon in Liberty seems to be thinning people’s noses and lips, and nobody seems to care about a recent incident in LA, where a traffic stop ended with a Black man dead, and his daughter gravely injured. Not only that, King has started to change. He’s no longer mentoring inner-city kids in his spare time, instead spending his time at the Wellness Center. He’s shaved down his Afro, doesn’t want to get into conversations about race, and he gets uncomfortable when they leave the neighborhood.

This story was social horror at its finest. The ending was completely shocking, but the book itself is also fantastic. The plot is unique, the characters are great, and are also news articles that give you insight into the other people in Liberty, and those were quite revealing. As a white woman, I know I read and felt this differently than Black women, but I also know I can’t change that. I encourage any Person Of Color who reads this to chime in - why is this not okay? I’m giving it five stars for creativity, creepiness and the way it had me thinking.

(Thank you to Knopf, Nicola Yoon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on June 11, 2024.)

This was an interesting book. It had me asking myself the hard questions at times and at times thinking the author was way out there! It did leave me thinking for some time after finishing - isn't that what a good book about a controversial subject should do?

In ‘One of Our Kind,’ Nicola Yoon takes us inside the mind of Jasmyn, a woman who craves change and equality for Black America. The resulting journey leads to an unsettling, dystopian utopia where social commentary intersects with sci-fi thriller. Yoon says her inspiration grew out of ‘The Stepford Wives’ crossed with ‘Get Out’ and is infused with the daily fears of brutality Black Americans face. ‘One of Our Kind’ questions how far one town will go and how much they’re willing to destroy to attain the idea of safety. Jasmyn, while at times maddeningly judgmental, represents the discontent of traditionally marginalized peoples caught in society’s prejudices, leaving readers uneasy yet intrigued. The book’s strength lies in the conversations it provokes, but also in the mirror it holds up. Yet, I craved a more visceral experience to sharpen the intellectual one—not just to understand Jasmyn’s fears but to submerge in her perspective independently from my own. Although I must admit, at first, I was frustrated by the ending; then I realized the closing passages are born out of the tragic inadequacy haunting those of us who dream of equality but keep hearing shots fired.

I love Nicola Yoon's books in general and I was so excited to read this one, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. It is marketed as a thriller, but I didn't get that sense for a while into the book. I was utterly disappointed.

Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the Black utopia of Liberty, California and are excited to find like-minded people. Jasmyn is also surprised not to find a chapter of Black Lives Matter, but is determined to get her neighbors and new friends to create one with her. However, the residents of Liberty seem focused on other things and not interested in social justice matters.

Nicola Yoon’s One of Our Kind is quite a departure from her YA romance novels (which I unreservedly love!)—this is an adult suspense/thriller, a creepy headtrip that kept me on edge, my shoulders tense, for all 272 pages.

Jasmyn Williams has some hesitations about her family’s move to Liberty, California, an all-Black community for the top echelon. But her husband, Kingston, is convinced that their family needs to make the move to secure a safe, bright future for their son Kamau and the baby they’ll have in a few, short months.

Kingston’s life hinged on a tragedy—his brother’s fatal shooting by a police officer—that has shaped his outlook ever since. The couple has experienced racism as individuals and as a couple, so at first their experience in Liberty (while at terms unnerving) reinforces the joy of living in a place with all-Black police officers and teachers and store owners.

But then Jasmyn begins to notice little things: her neighbors’ unwillingness to engage with the injustice still happening outside their community; Liberty’s commitment to straightened hair and European beauty standards; and the centrality of the spa whose self-care mantras turn Jasmyn off from the beginning.

Liberty was founded by Carlton Way, King’s boss, so Jasmyn understands the need King feels to toe the line, to show that he’s bought in. But then he starts spending all of his spare time at the spa, giving up his previous dedication to mentoring at-risk youth in their old neighborhood to focus on self-care.

Jasmyn also has a hard time finding people she really connects with, other than Keisha and Charles, kindred spirits, with whom she decides to start a Black Lives Matter chapter in Liberty. But they hit a wall, unable to recruit a single person to join them. And then Keisha and Charles start to change their opinions.

I don’t want to give away anything else about the plot, which is both captivating and deeply disturbing. The book alternates straightforward narrative with news stories and case files, illuminating the history of Liberty and its residents, creating a structure that is deeply resonant.

One of Our Kind brought to mind the film Get Out and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Ace of Spades, though those comps aren’t precise: this is the author’s unique response to American society, and it stands alone. It’s a powerful, thought-provoking work demonstrating that, regardless of genre, Nicola Yoon is a master.

I hate giving a 1 star review but I really really disliked this book. The main character was awful and the story was an exact knock off of Stepford Wives. I thought it sent the message of “there’s nothing good about being black, there’s only one way to be black, and if you’re white everything will be okay, that’s the only way to be okay”. I wondered if maybe I was being ignorant because I’m not a POC, but after reading reviews from other reviewers that are POC, I think it’s a pretty unanimous opinion.

Well well well. Stepford wives meets Get Out you say?
Yes please.

Jasmyn and her family just loved into an affluent All Black Neighborhood and are very excited for the safety and friends that will come with this life change. Jasmyn is an attorney and works in social justice so is surprised when she finds out her neighborhood doesn’t have a BLM chapter and no one seems interested, the more she reaches out the more sinister things become.

This was a wild ride. I didn’t like the main character but the plot and dialogue around what it is to be free in America were captivating and finding out what exactly was happening in the neighborhood makes it hard to put down.

Thanks to netgalley and Knopf for an eARC.

I was looking forward to writing my review for ONE OF OUR KIND because I thought I had a perfect comparison for the eerie vibes – the 2017 film Get Out. Not only did other people have the same idea about this horror film and the book, but the comp title is considered such a good fit for Nicola Yoon’s novel that it is part of the regular publicity summary. Unfortunately, I did not feel that “Get Out” tension from start to finish in this book.

The 236 pages in my e-format book were fast reading. Readers will sense immediately that something is not right, and it is not because Jasmyn is hesitant about moving out of a neighborhood that she and husband King have always enjoyed. However, King points out, how can they resist the promise of outstanding schools for their young son, Kamau. At times, the perfection of this planned community and Jasmyn’s large upscale home with three separate living areas are a bit heavy handed. At times instead of feeling like a scene is unfolding in my mind, I felt like the narrator was reading to me a list of details and brand names until I wanted to say, “Okay, okay, I get it. This is an affluent neighborhood, and the Williams have the latest and greatest material gadgets in their impressive home.”

There are some stereotypical and unlikable characters. but perhaps that is the point. For me, there was one character besides Jasmyn that I cared about. That was Jasmyn’s friend Keisha, who wisely knows and warns Jasmyn that “Just because these people have money don’t [sic] mean they have sense.”

If it weren’t for a surprising scene with disgusting Benjamin Sayles, I would say that this book was more YA than adult even though the characters’ ages are adult

However, I found this book too predictable for the adult category. I wish I could say that the potential I thought this plot had and the promise of a good story because of who the author is came together and left me wanting to rate this book high and recommend it to others. It did not. Is the book a 3? Is it a 2? Here’s why I rounded it up to a 3: I did finish reading the book. Why? because I wanted to know how the author planned on wrapping up the problems. (Eye roll) After all, since I wanted to yell, “Get out,” at one point, then I also wanted to know whether or not someone does just that. I also wanted to know if the book was going to improve to give a fair rating.

Wow! What a sad misstep this book was for me. I recognize why it was compared to Get Out and Stepford Wives, but better comparisons would be [book:The Other Black Girl|55711688] and [book:We Cast a Shadow|40163362] except they both did it better! The characters felt very shallow and simplistic. Jasmyn, the main character, was very self-righteous and overly virtuous. While I agree with her on most points, it was a overwhelming. There were no nuances in emotions or characters. Likewise, the story is heavy handed and then just went to the ridiculous. I might have viewed it better had I been looking for a dystopian story, but others do it better.

Given the Get Out and Stepford Wives comps, I really wanted to like this, but it was too heavy-handed and, no pun intended, black and white.
Our protagonist, Jesmyn, is talked into moving to a “Black utopia” by her husband and is disappointed to find her new neighbors don’t share her dedication to social justice. A dedication so all-encompassing, that when given news her best friend is expecting her first child, she responds with statistics about Black women’s higher mortality rate during childbirth.

The narrative of the book seems to imply Black people can either bury their heads in the sand or be so consumed by the horrors of racial injustice there is room for nothing else. There is nothing in between in Yoon’s world. As a white woman, it’s not my place to speak on the added stresses and fears of being Black in America, but I think it’s safe to say there is also room for joy .

There is one interesting idea presented at the end of the book, but it’s not explored. Instead, we’re given a so-called shocking ending and a cautionary tale. My caution, don’t read this book.

This is a tough one for me. I felt confused and off balance while reading this and I thought I missed something. After reading numerous reviews from POC, I think my instincts were correct.

The main character in this book, Jasmyn was felt one dimensional and like a stereotype. Her entire personality was tied up in social justice and there was no depth, development, or growth. She was also rude and judgmental of everyone in her community based on superficial things such as their hair, the way they dressed, or the way they spoke. She condemned people in her community for not "being enlightened" but then made these snap decisions about people based on surface level details. Her lack of empathy and her judgement was so extreme, it felt like a caricature.

Overall, this book really rubbed me the wrong way and felt false and heavy handed. I think there was a good idea in her somewhere, but the execution was disappointing and unsettling.

I love Nicola Yoon's writing and Everything, Everything and Instructions for Dancing are two of my favorite YA books! So I was excited to read her first adult novel. This one sucked me in at the beginning but it was definitely a slow burn and the middle 1/3 was kind of boring. It definitely had "The Other Black Girls" vibes.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC of this title.

The RIYL in the description for this book possibly does it a bit of a disservice - are you familiar with The Stepford Wives? Then you're going to know all the beats that this book is going to hit. That's not necessarily a bad thing - I haven't ready any of Yoon's previous work, but this was very page-turning even as I knew the exact plot points it was going to hit on its way to the ending. Where this lost me was in all of the connective tissue between those plot points - it doesn't do anything new with the Stepford Wives template, and I'm not sure the story really knows what it wants to say about the racial issues it's using as its driver. This was breezy, but seemed to think it was hitting deeper than it actually does.

I was intrigued by the Get Out and Stepford Wives vibes that the book promised. And to be fair, it did deliver on those vibes somewhat, but I'm not sure it made me uncomfortable in the right ways.

Jasmyn, our main character, is passionate about her Blackness and invested in racial justice. However, she's extremely judgemental towards lighter skinned Black women and POC who are not as dedicated to social justice as she is. While she is more developed than any other character, it's still fairly one dimensional.

As a white woman, maybe I'm not completely understanding the messaging of the book, but it almost felt as if it were achieving the opposite of what it set out to do. Seeing the mixed reviews from other readers, including Black readers, I'm clearly not alone in this. It tried to do things for shock value and discussion, but made me feel like the author sees Blackness and whiteness in a very specific way that doesn't leave room for nuance and different experiences. You know, way too black and white.

One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon is a thought-provoking novel that is bound to ignite engaging discussions in book clubs for generations to come.

I really wanted to love this given my love for her other book, but this was just not for me. Disappointed.