BLM- We can't let History repeat itself anymore- The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed6/11/2020 The Black Kids is Christina Hammonds Reed's debut novel and I believe it will become as popular as Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give debut novel. This book shows how history repeats itself if we do not actively work to improve our world. The Black Kids follows Ashley, a black kid in a rich neighborhood and school, that doesn't quite feel like she fits in anywhere. She realizes her childhood friends like Kimberly are not as supportive as she needs right now as riots and protests break out in Los Angeles. This story follows Ashley and her family in 1992 just after Rodney King had been beaten to an inch of his life by several uniformed officers- and caught on tape. When the officers are acquitted, Los Angeles breaks out in protests and riots because of the racial tensions and injustice that has been mounting. This story is a coming of age historical fiction novel focusing on how some of our history has come back to repeat itself. As readers, it makes us wonder the essential question right now- Is anything different this time? What can we do different this time to make lasting change? I chose to read this book because of my need and want for understanding and to be able to get a glimpse into what life is like for the black kids I work with and the adults that desperately need understanding and support right now. This book was particularly difficult at times to read because it felt too similar to what is going on right now with the Black Lives Matter Movement. It felt like I would read for a while, about events that happened the year I was born, then watch the news or get on Twitter and see it all over again. It was important to read and I enjoyed it, but I had to take frequent breaks because it felt like my heart was breaking all the time. This is a feeling I think needs to be embraced by the readers- because it is SO important that we make sure that it ends different this time. We need to make sure to keep pushing for all of those unwarranted deaths of innocent black lives are the fuel to our fire unrest. I believe that this book will be so influential and important in our time. We (white people) need to be able sit in the uncomfort and see how we can change and improve the world for black lives. Look to the black voices like Christina Hammonds Reed, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Tiffany Jackson, and Jason Reynolds and many more to the path we all need to follow. The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed comes out in Augus 2020- it might just be the best thing published this year.
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Kaitlyn R CarpenterWriter. Reader. Librarian. Blogger. Teacher. YA lover. Archives
September 2020
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