A review by mollysmith1313
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

4.0

I was less than 10 min into this audiobook when I realized how captivated I was by the writing of this book. As a person in my early 30s reading this book, I was surprised that I enjoyed it way more than quite a few YA books I’ve read. I spent 99% of the book eager to keep reading and ultimately ready to give it a review rating of 5 stars….until I got to literally the last 2 min…and Mama Letty killed Jade’s mother? It’s enough to ask most readers to join Avery or her mother in trying to forgive Mama Letty for all the years she didn’t get treatment for her trauma, she didn’t seek help with her struggle with alcohol abuse, and she neglected and abused her daughter. But to wrestle with the idea that she was also a murderer of an innocent woman? And I struggle to see WHY the author thought that plot point was necessary. It bothered me so much, I knocked the whole book down a star. The last 2 min of the book aside….this book has so much to offer. Examples of poetry, humor, pain, loss, trauma, depression, friendship, forgiveness. This book ripped my heart to shreds at certain times, especially the hospital scene. I actually cried. Avery (and all the other characters) are far from perfect people, but I felt they were so well written. Overall I still recommend this book!