This is an absolutely exceptional new young adult novel which I can already see exposing its readers (hopefully of all ages) to some important and timely conversations. Set with a backdrop of the 1992 Rodney King riots in LA, Hammonds Reed's novel is a haunting reminder that the current conversations highlighted in the media are not new; history is repeating itself and nothing is changing. With justified comparisons to the stunning The Hate U Give, Hammonds Reed has expertly crafted the story of Ashley and her family to be a true wake up call to the reality of police brutality and racism entrenched in societal structures.

Ashley is on the cusp of adulthood, waiting for her college acceptance letters and enjoying the time hanging out with her friends. She attends an expensive private school, with primarily white students, and lives in a more affluent area of LA. She is used to facing microaggressions in her school-life, such as the disturbing memory from a childhood pool party where her friend said Ashley could never be a mermaid as she is black, but she never really thought about challenging this prejudice as she has lived a sheltered life. As the riots inflame in LA, Ashley is increasingly forced to face up to her lack of action and her true feelings towards these prior instances of racist behaviour from her friends.

Hammonds Reed balances the historical events of the riots, including injecting the narrative with the media portrayal of the Rodney King attackers' court case and subsequent riots, with a deeply moving portrayal of family and community turmoil. We see Ashley evolve from a care-free, bubbly teenager to her comfortable existence being uprooted as she wakes up to the reality of racial prejudice she faces and will always face. The novel is packed full of issues to force the reader to face their own prejudices and perhaps also the privilege of their own comfortable life. This is alongside Hammonds Reed widening the scope of the novel from not only racial prejudice but shining a light on struggles with mental health, domestic abuse, slut shaming, the AIDs epidemic... This novel is by no means light in its delivery but packs a hugely important, educational punch.

All in all, I found this novel thoroughly absorbing and found myself examining my own life and actions throughout - an educational, beautifully written read which I hope reaches a wide audience upon its release. I would also genuinely like to see this text taught in English classrooms as a springboard into some of these conversations and will be recommending it from the rooftops to my teaching colleagues.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I.AM.IN.LOVE

Drop every book you’re reading right now and read this book ! I’m serious, this is one of the most impactful books I’ve read in 2020 !! It’s heartbreaking that the systemic racism is still happening in the exact same way 30 years later and it depicts how the system needs to change !

Ashley is a Black high school student from a relatively financially well-off background. Because of that, she begins the novel completely unaware of the political events and protests happening around her. She views the world through a different lens because of her financial situation (which is extremely interesting). But, her white friends are always telling racist jokes and comments about her and so Ashley starts realizing that she doesn’t fit well in her white friends group ! Throughout the book we see plenty of her white friends enacting micro-aggression’s and she tells us of more overt acts of racism that she and her family have experienced. What I really loved about Ashley’s character and more importantly the evident character development, is that she slowly realizes the importance of speaking up, even if it doesn’t affect you directly (which it affected her, but she didn’t realize it until later) and how embroiled she became in the events surrounding her.

To conclude, I believe that this book is so influential and important in our time. Despite being a historical-fiction, the events and sentiments depicted in the book are well relevant even today. The writing is vibrant, the events stick with you and the character development is extremely well done. I can’t recommend this enough.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster and Christina Hammonds Reed for my arc of The Black Kids in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: A coming of age debut that explores issues of race, class, gender and violence through the eyes of a 17 year old, wealthy, black girl named Ashley. Ashley's parents have tried to give her and her sister Jo everything in life that they never had. Ashley goes to a good school and lives in a nice area, her parents have good jobs, and Ashley feels different from 'the black kids' at school, the ones who are there on scholarships. One afternoon in April 1992 everything changes when LAPD officers are acquitted after beating black man Rodney King half to death.
Suddenly Ashley is more aware of herself than ever. She's no longer one of the girls, part of a unique clique that no longer includes her. Now she's one of the black kids and her eyes are slowly opened to the casual racism among her friends as well as the wider issues effecting the black community in LA.

I was only 2 in 1992 and also British so I'd never heard of the LA riots or the terrible thing that happened to Rodney King and the uprising that followed. What's sad is that 28 years later history is repeating itself, not to mention all the times in between. Ashley's perspective is a unique one because to all intents and purposes she has never seen herself as anything but part of her group, never really thought that her colour mattered to her friends. Until she realises it does. Until she realises that they're saying it's her fault they got stopped by the cops, or using the 'N' word casually. For Ashley this is a coming of age story as much as one about the wider issues going on in the poorer neighbourhoods of the city, and I think that is such a unique perspective. Ashley also sees what it is to not only be black but a black woman and explores concepts of patriarchy and misogyny as well. If you're looking for a book which will continue to educate you about why Black Lives Matter is such an important concept and why as white people it is important we continue to educate ourselves, then I would highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. An interesting take on younger black kids and how they feel with police and there fears. The one thing it didn't seem to have was much of a plot but the characters and how the pacing went kept me reading this till the end, so I would recommend it I just with it was a little more indepth.

The Black Kids is a teen girl's story set in the 1990s during a period of community uproar demanding justice after the inhumane police brutality seen by Rodney King—a young Black man. Ashley, the main character, is grateful for the life her parents have worked to built for her: a safe neighborhood, a reputed high school, and a sheltered lens to view the world through. But the perspective gradually changes when not only does her city burn up in protest but also her own sister is too close to the fire.

Despite being a historical-fiction, the events and sentiments depicted in the book are well relevant even today. The evident racism and microaggression that becomes clear enough to acknowledge only when a deeply moving, and often saddening, incident happens is an unfortunate yet timely exploration. As the riots get heated, the dynamics of a Black teen with her white friends, her family, her rebellious but self-assured sister, and herself changes.

A definitive recommendation. This story can grow empathy towards the Black community who have been—and still are—facing hurtful, and highly destructive, prejudice for their skin color. It's educational and emotionally impacting; it's complexity is wildly accurate and a must for everyone to increase their understanding of past (and current) scenarios.

A fantastic read. Especially for non-American readers who don't have an insight to systemic racism in the US, it was as much of an eye opener as The Hate You Give. It's a complex and layered story, the narrator realiseing she has each foot in a different world, with just the right amount of hope to balance out the sheer, continuing horror of racism.

Small niggle: some sections where the narrator's voice went from her usual self to sounding like a documentary. I especially liked that it was set in the 1990s, as it was about when I was a teenager too. The current events referred to were mostly alien to me, though.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

Set in the early nineties, The Black Kids story follows main character Ashley Bennett. For the most part of all of her life, living in gorgeous LA, she has been existing in an oblivious bubble, one that she shares with her friends, that’s given her a sheltered kind of perspective on the world. Her parents are quite wealthy, and partially because of them and the lifestyle they’ve built with her, she’s gotten used to life always being this way and not ever finding fault within it by ignoring quips and racist remarks, even in her daily life. It’s not until the end of her senior year, right before Summer can break, when everything changes. Four LAPD officers are exonerated from appallingly beating a Black man, Rodney King. As quickly as the tide kisses the shore, Ashley isn’t one of the girls anymore. She’s one of the Black kids. Labelled, overnight.

Protests accumulate fast, erupting in a kind of wildfire as LA burns literally. Ashley wants, and desperately needs, to continue her life as normal. She wants to stay in her bubble. But as her sister gets involved in the riots and put in danger, it gets harder to ignore what’s going on around her. But as she goes along with her best friends spreading a rumour that’s destructive about her Black classmate and her family unit starts to falter underneath the pressure, everything starts to fall onto Ashley’s shoulders. She no longer feels like she’s part of her friendship group, but doesn’t feel like one of the Black kids either.

Overall, The Black Kids is poignant and moving, a sort of book that I felt completely unable to forget it after the last page was turned. The history that’s woven into the story is painful, giving mirror images to what we all know is truth. I did like that Ashley’s character development grew over the course of the book, but didn’t agree with some of the weight based comments in the book, since I felt these weren’t needed/and didn’t add anything to the novel. Her character development toward the end definitely won me over, and she wasn’t as judgemental as her friends (who were a thousand times worse) but I feel like she wouldn’t say some of the things she did after her character grew.

What I did love was the passion behind the words, the way Christina’s writing seemed to build a 3D storyworld before my eyes, as if I could see it so vividly. Especially way that the novel explored so many aspects of racism, class, family, police violence, riots and protests – this was so needed, educational. And for the younger generation that might be confused about a lot of how racism has been carved into history all along, The Black Kids shows just how disastrous and hurtful this can be. I thoroughly loved The Black Kids and know this will be one of the best books of the year, one I hope is in hands of every YA reader. Huge four stars!

A very timely book. I didn't know much at all about the LA riots but reading about them whilst similar things are happening in the world nearly 20 years later is extremely sobering.

I liked Ash and I enjoyed this book. I think, plot and pace wise, the final third of the book is excellent. It's a slow burn that ignites on prom night. I would recommend this book to the teenagers I teach.

3.5 stars.

Set against the backdrop of the LA Riots following the acquittal of the police officers involved in the brutal beating of Rodney King, we meet Ashley as she wrestles with the divide between how black and white people are treated.

This book was so well written and had me completely engrossed. I am ashamed to say that I was some way through the book before I realised that the names of black people who had been murdered or assaulted referred were real people.

This book made for a really uncomfortable read as it is set almost 30 years and not a damn thing has changed since then.

The plot felt a little thin to me but beyond that a really great read.

The Black Kids is a book that everybody should read. Without question. I knew from chapter 3 that what I was reading was something special.

The Black Kids is historical fiction, albeit recent history, set in Los Angeles in 1992 against the backdrop of a city that is on fire in the wake of the Rodney King beating. The story follows Ashley, an affluent Black girl, and her family, as they are caugh up in the momentum of the ongoing riots.

Ashley goes to private school and all of her friends are white. Her friends call her an oreo, she laughs. Its a joke isn't it? The other Black Kids at her school are there on scholarship, all from the epicentre of the riots and bused out to go to school. Ashley is nothing like them. Her parents worked damn hard to make sure she isn't like them. She laughs at her friends jokes and joins in with a rumour that could destroy the life of the school's star athlete. She knows who she is.

But there is something in the back of her mind telling her that she is more like the Black kids at school than the white kids she hangs out with. Ashley's sister has been saying this for years. She's been at the riots every day handing out supplies to the protesters. The more Ashley gets confronted with the reality of the riots, and the more her family get swept up by them, Ashley must decide which side of the picket line she stands on.

Christina Hammonds Reed is a powerhouse. Her writing has so much weight behind it, her sentences have so much impact and her characters feel so real that I was incredibly shocked to find that this is her debut book. I utterly devoured it and her words are echoing in my head as type.

The book feels, despite its setting, to be so current. Ashley could be any girl in the West today, faced with the current racial equality protests that are taking place across the world. For me, this book put the current protests into context. It rooted them and made them feel part of something. And whilst I am sad that less than 20 years after the Rodney King beating we are still having the same conversations, I urge you to read this book. Preorder it. Tell your friends. Stories are power and in the hands of Christina Hammonds Reed, I promise this will change you.

A groundbreaking debut by the crucial new YA voice Christina Hammonds Reed.

Searingly raw and profoundly moving, The Black Kids is an unflinching exploration of race, class, and identity that is as shockingly timely as it is powerfully timeless. I encourage you all to read it.

really enjoyed this one! and i know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but this is one of the best ones i've seen!

set in 1992 this takes place during the rodney king riots following the failure to convict the police officers involved in beating rodney king. the main character is ashley, a black teenager who goes to a predominately white school and is surrounded by white friends, never really interacting much with 'the black kids' of the school. over the years she's picked up things from her friends that make her uncomfortable, their use of the n word, the way they speak about events in the news, but she's mostly shrugged it off.

until the riots and the way l.a changes as it burns

these events lead ashley to make friends with people she never expected, to think about the way she's processed things in the past, the way her actions have consequences, and to generally grow as a person.

i really enjoyed ashley's voice. i loved the casual way she spoke about her friends, her family, the self-awareness within her community, her relationship with her parents and her sister, who has unexpectedly got married and got involved in the riots.

i feel like i'm not explaining anything properly which i always see as a sign of a great book but i really liked this one, i learned a lot, i always love books set in the 90s, and i really liked the ending. would recommend!

"You can't disenfranchise a huge portion of the population and not expect shit to go down. I mean, what they did to him is awful, but really, Rodney's just the tip of the whole goddamn iceberg."

While this book is set in the 90s and follows the story of Rodney King, it feels very timely and it could easily have been written about George Floyd today. This shows that nothing has really changed in all this time.

This a great book with complex characters that covers important matters surrounding race. This is a must-read and should be on the curriculum in schools.

This book is just spectacular!

Set in 1992 Los Angeles with a backdrop of the riots surrounding the acquittal of Rodney King’s murderers, The Black Kids tells the story of Ashley, a black girl at a predominantly white high school and her rich white friends.

The historical elements add an important backdrop to the feelings Ashley is having regarding her own identity, dealing with the microaggressions (and straight up aggressions) she has to deal with from her white classmates.

It’s tender, beautiful and depressingly relevant.

(Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

I really enjoyed this book, I definitely agree with the comparison to Angie Thomas however The Black Kids is different enough to not be a mirrored copy.

There is so much talk of injustice in this book which I feel is very important, especially for the current time. I really felt for Ashleigh, she goes through so much at such a young age. Growing up, early on in life is imperative and it is so sad to see individuals miss out on their childhood. So many thought provoking topics were discussed within this book and I am still thinking about them long after finishing.

I really liked the writing style in this book it had me engaged from start to finish and once I began I struggled to stop. I more or less finished this book in one sitting and it got me out of a huge reading slump that I had been suffering with.

I cannot recommend this book enough I will be telling as many people about this book as in can. It is one to look out for and one which I think everyone should read.

Ashley is brought up and goes to school with white kids. She even refers to the black kids as “them”. But things change when police officers are found not guilty in their trial of brutality on Rodney King. Set in Los Angeles at the time of the riots Ashley and her sister get caught up in it all.
An illuminating read - I felt at times I’d got into Ashley’s head

I kept forgetting this was set in the 90s. With its themes and everything it felt so current and I'm glad in that regard and now is one of the more fundamental times to read it. We are living it now. We've lived it all our lives, but now may be the chance to change it all around.

This story resonated with me so hard. Somewhat similar to Ashley, I guess I would be considered a "lucky black girl" as I had been, not necessarily sheltered to this extreme, but not exposed to so much rascim in my time, despite living in a predominately white area. Not to say that that would be expected, I'm just mapping out similarities and differences and an overall connection I felt with our protagonist. So that being said, I understood when she said she was used to the casual, subtle rascim, or felt detached from horrible brutality, because it was never right in my face.

Her friends, especially Kimberly, are crap. Heather I like the most, Courtney is a user and Kimberly is just mean. It was interesting to see how friendships evolved and who, if any, would stay strong.
LaShawn was such a lovely character. I wish we had more of him but as the rising of chaos surrounded him that impacted Ashley, I felt like he was only on the edge of her life and was a little untouchable. Especially as Ashley was so accustomed to fitting in with the white kids of the school.
Yet, in saying that, the development grew strong and I was happy with the route that it took.

I love bits of lyrics floating in this. It just gave it that summer vibe, but also resonated profoundly in terms of context.

I did find sometimes Ashley came across a little young but I think it's just spoiled immaturity. It actually adds to her flawed, yet relatable, character.

As I crept ever closer to the end, I was looking forward to seeing how the story ended, but also don't wanna leave these pages. I really wasn't expecting it to just end!

This was a fantastic, coming of age story, how police brutality affects the community, and how a rich, black girl learns to care and see her blackness, learn her worth and more. It wasn't a happily ever after. It was realistic, but very relatable and enjoyable. I loved every minute reading this book!

The Black Kids is a coming of age story set in LA in the late 1900s following Ashley, a wealthy black teen who for most of her life has been sheltered from the world surrounding her.

Ashley's parents have done everything they can to protect their daughters from knowing the truth of what their family and community had to face in the past and present, not realising the consequences that their actions would take in years to come. Although they were trying to protect them, it's evident that the lack of communication has made it harder for Ashley to understand why her family isn't as close any more and how she should react to it all.

Now there are riots and protestors roaming the streets and cops ready to stop anyone who seems suspicious. Ashley feels like an outsider for most of it even when people around her who really care are talking about it, and it's not until incidents occur that make her break away from the people she once called her friends that she can finally stand up and do what she thinks is right for herself.

Throughout this book, Ashley continues to follow and hang out with her white friends who continued to intact acts of microaggression and racism, deeming it okay with Ashley being one of their friends.

This book was compelling and engaging, and I was intrigued to read it through Ashley's perspective and witness how her thoughts and decisions changed as the book went on. Ashley is a character that is flawed but these are what make her feel more real within the book. She makes mistakes and through these mistakes learns and apologises to those that they affect.

Reading about her white friends, who she has been hanging out with since they were young, and how they think that they can make racist comments just because Ashley is their friend made me feel very uneasy knowing that in this age it's seen to still happen and it needs to stop.

Although it is compared to Angie Thomas' The Hate You Give, both books show two completely different views and perspectives to the subjects of racism and discrimination in which they face. Both are brilliantly written and have two unbelievably crafted black female characters.

This book is amazing and I'm so grateful to have been given this opportunity to read it in exchange for my review. Please

If you want to know more about Black Lives Matter, then you should read this book. It will definitely be a book that I will recommend in my secondary school library. Set in 1990s LA., our main character Ashley is trying to find her place in the world. She is on the outside of so many circles, she struggles to define herself in relation to her friends and family. She is a rich POC in a predominately white high school; to fit in with her high school friends she ignores their inherent and ‘casual’ racism; she can’t identify with “the black kids” at her school as they are there on scholarships; and her family have raised her in ignorance of her own black history to try and protect her from the devastating losses they experienced.

This was such a powerful and emotional read for me. The book begins with the police brutality of Rodney King which has far too many parallels with the tragic death of George Floyd today. The author weaves the past and present together so cleverly from Ashley’s great-grandma to the LA riots in the 1990s. But this story could easily have been set in 2020. It has made me pause and reflect on my own knowledge of Black History and white supremacy.

The central character holding all of this together is Ashley and you can feel the weight of the plot (and the future) resting on her shoulders. Ashley is ignorant of her own history and we learn alongside her and watch her become more aware of the world around her. She is a flawed character but likeable as she discovers who she is amidst so many emotional upheavals. She learns she has to make her own way in the world. “If all the heroes in our stories are white, what does that make us?” It’s time for a change.

4.5 stars.

This book feels so relevant given what's happened recently and it's such an important read to show that, sadly, things haven't changed as much as people hoped it would.

The characters were incredible and so realistic. This was so powerful and beautifully written, and these stories are so important to tell.

The only reason this wasn't a 5 star for me was purely that the story occasionally felt disjointed and hard to grasp exactly what just happened in places. However, that's purely a personal preference on the writing. Everything else was so cleverly done and I really enjoyed this book.