It's a Privilege Just to Be Here is, I think, going to be a hard book for me to review. While I'm well aware of the racism and elitism of the academic forum in America as a whole, the idea of a private Quaker school is so far out of my own experience that it's hard for me to know where to begin in reviewing a story about one.

It's a Privilege Just to Be Here follows Aki, a teacher at Wesley Friends Quaker School. This private institution is home to some of the best and brightest kids (at least, according to their parents) with the most shining futures around. UC Berkley, Yale, and Harvard acceptances are practically guaranteed here and fully expected by the students that attend. One night, a racist slogan is spray painted on the side of a building, throwing the campus into chaos and testing the school's true commitment to diversity.

So, some background. This book was written by an attendee of a school similar to the one that is written about in this book, but her name is absolutely not Emma Sasaki. This pseudonym was created ostensibly to protect the former student from backlash, but anyone interested would find it pretty easy to figure out the real name of this author. She has done a small handful of interviews positing that she based this book on the very real racism and oppression that she and others faced at this private school when she was attending with a goal of opening the eyes of people in and around these communities to the ways that students of color (and other historically oppressed groups) are treated by school administrators and parents.

This book was...fine. The writing was very nicely done and Aki had some very nice, messy character development that made her feel remarkably real for someone that exists only as ink and paper (and an audio narrator). The problem for me was that, for all the realism that was put into Aki, everyone and everything else felt like a caricature. The hatred and racism coming from some of the parents and admin, especially the main parent that squares off against Aki (Claire? I have literally already forgotten), comes off as supervillain-esque, especially with phrases like "I can make things very unpleasant for you" being tossed around with utter sincerity.

The other part of this book that really turned me off was that the pacing dragged so aggressively in parts. The heart of this story lies in the micro (and macro) aggressions faced by marginalized students on the campus, but many of the characters just spent their time spinning their wheels over the same questions over and over. If I had to hear Aki question her daughter's behavior only to spinelessly kowtow to Meg's fits of adolescent disrespect one more time, I really felt I would rip my hair out.

This book has a really good point to make and the writing is strong, but it felt like the story was a little too close to the author, making it very hard for her to "kill her darlings", as it were. This story was unique and I think people who lean more into the literary fiction sphere will appreciate the slower pace and thoughtful lessons, but I found the pacing to be tiresome and the lack of development for other characters to be lackluster.

It’s a Privilege Just to Be Here by Emma Sasaki is a funny and engaging read that peers into the gilded veil that is East Coast private schools and dissects the dynamics with a razor sharp scalpel that speaks of lived experience and years of rumination that can only make one chuckle after they’ve sifted through the bizarre experience of an independent school (and I would know - I’m the product of one 😅). Sasaki gets right to the heart of the story’s tension without unnecessary exposition, and it feels like a whirlwind story from start to finish with all the different players and dynamics, but it does an excellent job not getting bogged down by the unnecessary details. I read this book in a day because I couldn’t put it down, and its messy, realistic, and satisfying ending made me want to simultaneously cackle and scream, much like the main character wants to do all throughout the book, so I would say Emma Sasaki did a great job 😂

It’s a Privilege Just to Be Here by Emma Sasaki is a heartfelt exploration of identity, belonging, and the complexities of modern life. Sasaki’s writing captures a range of emotions, particularly through her reflections on cultural heritage and personal growth. While the themes are relatable and thought-provoking, the story occasionally lacks momentum, with some sections feeling repetitive or overly introspective. The characters are likable but don’t always evolve in compelling ways. Overall, it’s an enjoyable, if somewhat predictable, read that leaves an impact but doesn’t quite stand out.

This is excellent on audio and I really enjoyed it. There's much more drama and pressure coming from the parents of Wesley Friends School students than I would have thought possible, and when the school is the location of a hate crime, everything heats up.

I really empathized with Aki who was in a very precarious position. Being one of the only POC faculty at the school, she was put on the spot to offer guidance on how to handle the white supremecist rhetoric that was being spread around the school. This was an unfair situation for her to be thrown into, and to make matters worse, she herself was often the victim of racist aggressions from faculty and parents.

I can't say I was surprised to learn about how private academies can be so steeped in racism, but this book was still eye-opening.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced listening copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#netgalley
#ItsaPrivelegeJusttobeHere

Aki, one of the only teachers of color at a prestigious prep school, faces hypocrisy when a racist graffiti exposes the school's underlying issues. Her daughter and classmates demand change, while the administration attempts to form a racial equity task force. Aki finds herself caught in the crossfire as she navigates her own feelings, the school's internal conflicts, and the generational divide in activism.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and this is my voluntary and unbiased review, but unfortunately I did not get this audiobook done before publication.

I overall really liked this book! It was recommended for people who are fans of Kiley Reid's book, Such a Fun Age, and I think that is a great comparison. While parts of this one dragged at times, overall it was a really fascinating look into the role that white privilege plays in academia, and the hurdles faced by marginalized races. With layered characters and complex experiences, It's a Privilege Just to Be Here tackles tough issues beautifully. At no point did this feel like a debit novel!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I really enjoyed this one, very thought provoking and well written. The narrator was great as well.

I was definitely drawn in by the title and premise but unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me and I decided to DNF. When I would stop reading, I wasn’t ever drawn to get back to it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free book to review.

It's a Privilege Just to Be Here was an excellent read. I loved the dark academic setting. I liked the exploration of themes of class and who gets to "belong". Well done!

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job of adding elements of incredulity that are almost funny into a pretty serious book. I thought the mother daughter relationship at the centre was extremely well drawn and realistic. The community at the centre of this book could really have stood in for any affluent community in North America, maybe even in the world. The lengths families went to protect their kids were pretty universal, even while sometimes being a bit horrifying. Anyone who is still struggling with what a microaggression is should be reading this book. It is a masterpiece of the subtle cruelties we inflict on one another. It's never really preachy, just a matter of fact look at how humans can kind of be the worst to each other, but still manages to be a great read.

I was a huge fan of this book. It is one of my favorite net galleys of the year. The narrator was great and the story kept me focused. For local DC readers, they will love the neighborhood specific attention to detail and nodes to locales. I've already recommended this to lots of friends.

Emma Sasaki makes her fictional debut with the darkly amusing story of a mother and daughter caught up in a scandal at a prestigious private school. My thanks go to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio galley. This book is for sale now.

Wesley Friends School is the prep school to which presidents and other high placed politicos send their teens, a place where they are nurtured as completely as any hot house flower, and then sent onward, hopefully to an ivy league college. Aki Hiyashi-Brown abandons her PhD and accepts a teaching job there in order for her daughter, Meg, to be able to attend; otherwise the tuition would be impossibly expensive. The school is overwhelmingly Caucasian, and so perhaps it’s unsurprising that Aki finds her face prominently displayed on all of the promotional materials the school disseminates, along with those of the few other teachers of color.

That’s all fine and good until the day when the fence outside is vandalized by spray paint reading, “Make Wesley white again.” Aki is ready to do what she’s been taught from the cradle: keep her head down, do her job, and not say anything. But Meg and her classmates have no intention of remaining silent. Before she knows it, Aki finds she has been assigned to be the head of the Racial Equity Task Force, a token job on a token committee that has more to do with appearances than with any actual desire for change.

She is given a script to follow and told not to offer up any of her own observations or opinions. Soon, things spiral beyond the control of Wesley’s administration, and Aki is caught between doing what her bosses want her to do, and supporting her daughter and students in their quest for genuine change.

This book, which the author notes is based on her own experience, has me at hello. Though I am not a wealthy or connected individual, I did send my child to a private school for a few years, one which was very white, and which used my half-Japanese daughter’s face on its pamphlets a lot. I can’t not read this book, and whenever I have earbuds in, this is what I listen to. I find it well paced and engaging, setting just the right tone without over-moralizing or becoming strident. There are some great side characters as well; I like Aki’s husband and mother particularly, and appreciate the bond between Aki’s half-Japanese daughter and her Issei (first generation) grandmother.

However, my own husband is also Issei, and I asked him to listen to the reader during one of the many passages in which the grandma speaks to Aki in Japanese. “Is this reader’s Japanese as good as I suspect?” I asked, somewhat proud of my first year Japanese skills. He listened to two lines, laughed, and shook his head.

For this, I really do have to knock one star off my original five star rating. Perhaps if I had a digital review copy I could have rated that version higher, but I have what I have, and it’s problematic. Nevertheless, I appreciate this novel and the message it delivers, and I greatly look forward to reading whatever Sasaki publishes next.

Very interesting story about racism seen and experienced from different generations in the unique environment of a privileged private school. I liked the character-POV we followed and that we stuck to that throughout. I liked seeing the main character's progression over the story. And I thought the author captured the insolent, stubborn and no-bs mentality of the main character's teenage daughter quite well. She definitly felt very real and it was interesting seeing the mother's perspective and feelings about her teenage daughters behavior.
I liked that we never really found out who did the crime and that there wasn't a great "revolution" where everything was solved and the private schools suddenly became much more liberal and everyone was now one big happy family. The conclusion of the story felt much closer to true life. Unsatisfying but incremental process. Overall, a nice read. Happy to have been here.

IT’S A PRIVILEGE JUST TO BE HERE written by Emma Sasaki and brilliantly narrated by Cindy Kay was a very interesting look at race, class, money and privilege.

Aki Hiyashi-Brown is head of the History Department at the prestigious Wesley Friends School in Washington, DC. One of the perks of her position is the fact that her seventeen year old daughter can attend the school bypassing the 51k per year tuition. But daughter Meg is a rabble rouser who seems to find herself knee deep in all of the school’s social injustices.

When racial epithet graffiti hits too close to home and the school community find itself in the middle of a quagmire, including race, Aki is appointed the Director of Equity and Diversity. The only problem is, no one really knows what that entails. In the meanwhile, parents and students alike keep being reminded to ‘ move forward into the light’. As Meg tries to prove that golden boy Aaron Wakeman is the graffiti artist, she finds herself in serious hot water with the administration and some of the students and parents. Trying to keep her job and with her daughter’s future in mind, Aki works with best friend Jules, also a teacher, to find out exactly what is going on within those hallowed halls.

I don’t usually like audiobooks, however this one was very well done by Dreamscape Media. I could feel the teenage angst and felt the tension ratchet up among the parents and students while Meg ruffled quite a few feathers. This was a prime example of the disparities between the haves and have nots. I will be keeping an eye out for future Emma Sasaki novels. It will be interesting to see where she goes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the early access audiobook opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

There were three reasons for me requesting this book, first was the cover and the title. Seriously what a cover and the title!!! Second was the premises , it was intriguing. It's been sometime I have read about racism and as I have loved The hate u give, I thought this would definitely be an enjoyable and woke read. Third was of course dreamscape media.

It's a privilege just to be here handles a very important topic and yet fails to deliver it. The book is full of unnecessary details and fillers which doesn't really add to the story. The conversations between characters felt off and not serious to the level of the topic it has been dealing with. It is slow paced and I didn't really care for anyone and I'm not sure why.

The audiobook narration is good so it wasn't about the narration but the content which failed to grab my attention. I had to push myself to complete the book, at times thought of DNFing too. It doesn't get better. I could relate to Aki, most of the times I'm like her too or even if I try to fight back, I'm good I'm over reacting so I could understand Aki and her situation quite well yet it did not made me feel anything for her or Meg.


This book makes you question if it is really worth leaving one's Country to become citizen of another where you will always be a foreigner. For human beings, a sense of belonging has always mattered and it raises the question if laying low to be accepted in another place is the right thing to do or fighting back to stand up for yourself is.

Even when it deals with such an important and existential topic it fails to deliver the impact it is supposed to.

Narration : 3.5 stars
Book rating : 2.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape media for the audiobook ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC (in audiobook format).

In the world of audiobooks, where the narrator’s voice can make or break the listener’s experience, Cindy Kay’s rendition of Emma Sasaki’s “It’s a Privilege Just to Be Here” is a harmonious symphony that elevates the text to new heights.

Sasaki’s narrative is a poignant exploration of the intricacies of human relationships and the often-overlooked moments that shape our existence.

The story weaves through the lives of its characters with a delicate precision that mirrors the complexity of real life. Sasaki’s prose is lush and accessible, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in the world she has crafted.

Cindy Kay’s narration is nothing short of masterful. Her ability to capture the nuances of each character’s voice, from the subtle inflections that hint at their deepest insecurities to the bold declarations of their greatest passions, is commendable.

The audiobook format allows for a unique intimacy between the narrator and the listener. Kay’s voice, consistent and comforting, becomes a personal guide through Sasaki’s narrative landscape. It’s a journey that is as much about the characters’ search for meaning and connection as it is about the listener’s own reflection on these universal themes.

“It’s a Privilege Just to Be Here” is a testament to the power of storytelling and the added layer of depth that an audiobook can provide. It’s a privilege indeed to be an audience to such a work that not only entertains but also prompts introspection. This audiobook is a must-listen for those who cherish well-crafted narratives and the unique experience that audiobooks offer.

Rating: 4.5/5 – A beautifully narrated tale that resonates with the soul.

It's a Privilege Just to Be Here by Emma Sasaki and narrated by Cindy Kay is simply outstanding

Aki Hayashi-Brown teaches at the prestigious Wesley Friends School in Washington DC. Her daughter Meg (Megume) also attends the school, a brilliant student, but only able to attend because Aki is a teacher. Aki follows the rules, staying under the radar, not tipping the boat, but Meg is far more outspoken

Aki's husband is away on a research project, but he is not Megs father. Megs father was Aki's professor, a man who dropped her the minute he found out she was pregnant. But fathers take many forms and Aki's husband is a wonderful steadying force between mother and daughter and tehy both adore him

All is hunky dory until a racist statement is spray painted on teh campus and the schools administration scoots into action, to prove to the country that they are diverse and intolerant of racism. BUt Aki comes to realise, through her own observations and Megs actions, that she is being used as a "token", so the high-profile school of the Washington "elite" can retain it's facade of diversity and equity. But a facade is exactly what it is and Mother and daughter, once divided, come together in a shared fight for equality

A stunning novel that had me listening intently throughout. A brilliant observation of the social issues surrounding the "elite" prep school culture and the dark underbelly. Also, it is worth noting, that the author does not demonise, but celebrates those who are genuinely inclusive within the institution, while shining a light on those who are not

Huge props to Cindy Kay for this narration which was absolutely chefs kiss!

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, Emma Sasaki and Cindy Kay for this outstanding ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

♡𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰♡
3 🌟
-
DNF @20%,
The narrator did a good job. This book just wasn't for me. But I will still recommend this book to others.
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Thank you, Netgalley, and Dreamscape Media for the (ALC)-audiobook for my honest review.

It's a Privilege Just to Be Here is set at the prestigious Wesley Friends School in Washington DC where Aki is a teacher. After an incident on campus where the words "Make Wesley White Again" are spray-painted on the side of one of the school buildings, Aki is hurriedly made the Interim Director of Diversity and Equity, pushing her into the spotlight where she has to deal with parent and student complaints as well as the media. Aki's daughter Meg is a student at the school, and very vocal about how the school and its student promote a racist environment, causing conflict with Aki and the administration. This book was a really interesting discussion of racism, especially in privileged environments. It was at times infuriating to listen to, as students and teachers were treated unfairly, but it was satisfying to see how the characters grew as the book went on. The narrator did an excellent job with the audiobook and the listening experience was great.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It follows Aki, a Japanese-American teacher working at a prestigious private school in Washington DC. Following the appearance of some very racist graffiti at the school which quickly makes national news, she is immediately put into the position of being used as one of the few faculty members of color to protect the school’s image. While she takes a fairly passive approach to the overt and covert forms of racism she experiences in her day to day life, her daughter, a student at the school, is extremely vocal about it.

I think this book captures well the experience of being one of the few people in an environment who isn’t extravagantly wealthy. It also highlights the ways in which liberal discussions of race and racism is frequently performative, more aimed at seeming to care about race than at addressing the problem. I was also often simultaneously in awe of and irritated by her teenage daughter’s absolute confidence in calling out the people around her. In awe because it is a level of conviction we should all aspire to and irritated because we see from Aki’s perspective how that approach to social issues serves to complicate participation in white society.

Strong first novel, set in a fictional private school in DC known to have the city’s most elite families attend. The novel addresses difficult conversations on race and privilege where the solution is not always apparent or easy. My understanding is that Sasaki drew a lot of inspiration from her own experience - such as approaching said topics with avoidance due to her own upbringing felt pretty spot on to me. I appreciate stories like this but yikes it can get ugly.

What I couldn’t figure out at times, were the tones of the characters. I wasn’t sure if their reactions and dialogues were meant to be satirical caricatures of themselves much like Cole’s “When No One Is Watching” or introspective like Reid’s “Such a Fun Age”. Regardless, interesting story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.