Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Black Kids

This book focuses on a part of history that no other book I’ve read has — the Rodney King trials and subsequent uprising in LA in the 90’s. It follows a Black teenaged girl who lives a financially privileged life. She and her all white friends go to a fancy private school that’s only 10 miles away from the heart of the unrest that follows the not guilty verdict in the King police brutality case. The main character, Ashley, learns about her family, history, and what it means to be Black in America from her sister, her uncle and cousin, and the few other Black students who go to her school. A coming of age story that incorporates what it must be like to be young and Black in America — across the span of history. The book, while set in the 90’s, has parallels that teenagers today can draw from to understand the world around them.

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fantasyshelves's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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whatisthebooksellerthinking's review

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Gripping coming of age YA contemporary, set in 1990s Los Angeles. Amidst the riots after the arrest of Rodney King, Ashley and her friends are in their final high school year. The city is burning and racial tensions are pushed to the forefront of everyone's conscious. How does this change Ashley? How does she navigate her way through? A gripping and well written story, the atmosphere of the city on fire echoed in the fiery friendships and angst of growing up in world where the colour of your skin affects everything. Highly recommended and important read for us all.

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hilarylouise's review

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"Sometimes it's hard being a girl, and it's hard being black. Being both is like carrying a double load, but you're not supposed to complain about it."

The Black Kids follows Ashley Bennett, a seventeen year old Black girl, for whom life has always been perfect. Her parents worked hard to ensure a "good" life for their children, buy a house on the "right" side of LA, and send Ash and Jo to a "good" school. When four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating Rodney King half to death, things change overnight in the city. Ash is no longer just Ash, she's one of the Black kids now.

I'll start by saying this book is absolutely beautifully written. It's so full of feelings and emotions, and I nearly cried six or seven times when reading this! I was expecting something similar to The Hate U Give with this one, and totally understand why people make comparisons between the two, but there are definite differences. The Black Kids is written with more beauty and description, whereas THUG has more anger and purity of emotion. They're both brilliant books, and although the topic is similar, I think the actual content is very different.

This book is seeped in actual history, the constant references of events that actually happened make this feel incredibly real, and also very present, despite being set in 1992. It provides an interesting springboard for the reader to research more into actual things that happened in LA, and the outcomes of these, although the majority of the story is fictional. Although I am not Black, there are certain scenes which feel so real, and are very hard to read.

A key takeaway for me was just the importance of having the right friends and family around you. The book explores Ash's relationships with parents, siblings, friends, and other people she feels she should be friends with, and manages to really discuss these with consideration and empathy.

The pacing of the story was a little off. The book is split into three parts - before, during, and after, in reference to the LA riots after the officers are acquitted of wrongdoing in the Rodney King case. During was fast-paced and full of content, whereas Before felt a little like it was just warming up. And After felt like it was winding down, finishing everything off nicely, tying up the loose ends.

Despite that, this is a must read! If you liked THUG or Queenie, I think you'd like The Black Kids!

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