‘One of Our Kind’ is Nicola Yoon’s first adult novel. I had to request the ARC after loving all her YA books, I had high hopes! The blurb kinda gives off the vibes of ‘Q’, almost like a dystopian novel with elements of reality and that doesn’t seem too far off from real life. Unfortunately, this didn’t meet my expectations. I understand the intentions of the book and it’s raising awareness of racial injustice and the impacts these events have on POC mentally, but it felt as though it could have been better thought out and planned.
The main character, Jasmyn, was very judgemental of everyone around her (though it was sometimes justified), and came across as very self-righteous. It felt as though her husband, King, was gas-lighting her quite often and it annoyed me that she never called him out on it despite being quick to call out literally everyone else?
The plot was really fast-paced, to the point where it felt really rushed. There were elements that could have been a much larger focus in the story, such as delving deeper into how the Wellness Centre actually ‘helped’ people, how King was influenced to move to Liberty and take part in their cult-like meetings… It’s hard to describe how this book fell flat for me, without including spoilers. The ending particularly was rushed and felt unplanned, like the story could easily have spanned another 100 pages and been better!
Overall, it was an interesting premise but executed badly. It’s definitely worth exploring other reviews for this book, especially from people of colour, as there are a few on Goodreads which identify the book as troubling.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book all the same.

I loved Stepford Wives and Get Out so I knew this book would be the one for me, it was a very unsettling read overall.

I read Ira Levin's brilliant story, The Stepford Wives, several years ago, but I can still remember what an impact the novel made on me. It was saying something serious about the backlash against feminism (a horror story indeed), and I found it insulting for example, that the movie adaptation featuring Nicole Kidman so utterly failed to do the book justice.

For anyone who has read that book, the events in Nicola Yoon's story will not come as a surprise. The value added in her novel lies in its timely portrayal of issues of African American identity, institutionalized racism and police violence against POC in America today.

But I have to say I was disappointed not to see the author give credit where it's due. While Levin's story focused on the issue of gender equality or lack thereof, this novel portrays a somewhat similar set of issues in its storytelling that focuses on events seen through a racial inequality lens.

This book owes a huge debt to
Levin's novel, and while I have no problem with Yoon taking inspiration plot-related inspiration from that story, I would have liked to see more originality in the adaptation of the storyline, rather than relying on the context-specific issues around racism and Black Lives Matter to differentiate the two books. I will still give it 4 stars - primarily because the issues it addresses are important, and it was well-written.

This is an unsettling book which gives a satisfying reading experience. If you like Jordan Peele films you will like this book.