Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles hit my radar via Twitter, I think when everyone was tweeting out the cover. FYI, that cover is PERFECT. Like, how could it not catch your eye immediately? So, I knew I had to read this book. Also, I am trying to learn more about the Black Lives Matter Movement via fiction and non-fiction. Frankly, this book with the most gorgeous cover really made me think and also check my reactions.

Here are the biases and perspectives I bring to the table while reading this book, so that we have full transparency. I am white. I live in the suburbs. My husband is a police officer as well as a commissioned officer in the military. Our social group consists of other officers – both military and police. I do not come into this book with negative connotations of BLM. However, I did come into it with my background of positive experiences with law enforcement. I want to stress that I am a white lady reviewing this book and my perspective is basically irrelevant, but I am obligated to review this book as I obtained it from Netgalley.

Jay Coles’s Tyler Johnson Was Here is about this teenager named Marvin who has a twin named Tyler. Marvin is kind of a nerd, but actually really awesome. I mean, he and his friends are really into this TV show. My name blanks on it right now. Anyways, so Marvin has these big dreams. He wants to go to MIT and major in engineering. Only his principal is a total douche and tries to prevent Marvin from achieving this dream. Meanwhile, Marvin’s brother is kind of drifting from him. He’s hanging out with this guy named Johntae who is not really a savory character. One night, Marvin and his two friends go to a party along with Tyler. The party gets busted. Marvin and Tyler get separated and that is the last Marvin sees of Tyler. And so, the book grapples with where it is that Tyler went. Of course, we all know what happened because it is on the jacket copy.

Marvin’s journey is SO interesting. I mean, he has a lot to grapple with. He’s thinking about his father who is in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s worrying about his brother. Also, Marvin is trying to decide if he is making the right choices for his future. For awhile, MIT seemed like the best choice. Yet, is that because it is a white school and we value white things more? There’s this shift in Marvin as a person when he begins to think about Howard and sets his sights on that school. There’s a lot to unpack and think about and discuss.

I feel like Tyler Johnson Was Here really adds something unique and new to books that examine the lived experiences of Black teenagers. Straight up, this book caused me to really have to do the work of examining my biases and my perceptions. There were times I was reading it and could feel myself kind of pushing back a little with regards to the antagonism of law enforcement and the principal. I remember thinking, wow, that is a bit much. Then I had to stop and say to myself, no. No, this is my ingrained racism and just because I have had positive experiences, does not mean that is the reality of Black people. I think if you’re reading this book and you are white, you’re going to find yourself doing the work. By that I mean, you will examine your biases. You will question your perceptions. This is absolutely a book that will make you think and is well worth your time.

Even more raw than The Hate U Give, Tyler Johnson Was Here tells an unfortunately familiar tale of police brutality. Marvin's twin brother goes missing after a party, and video later surfaces showing his death at the hands of a police officer. Marvin tries to overcome the loss of his brother while figuring out how to move forward with his own life.

Reading this book broke my heart. It is painful to read the scenes of police brutality (before Tyler's murder) and know that this book has to be written. That this book has to tell the truth of the racism that is happening in America. This book needs to be read by so many. It's importance can't be described. I can't wait to share this book with my students!

4.5
*Received an e-galley from Netgalley in return for an honest review.*
Marvin and his twin brother Tyler have been raised in the hood and taught by their mother "the rules" and how to survive. With their dad in jail for a crime he didn't commit, the boys, now seniors in high school, start growing apart from each other. Marvin is worried about the people Tyler is starting to hang out with. A party upends both of their lives.
I liked the story, but didn't totally love it. I'm glad these stories are being told, but feel like I'll compare them to each other and this one falls a little short compared to some others. I love that Marvin is....Marvin. He isn't the typical character you would think you'd find in a book in this setting. His friends are great as well.

Breathtaking, beautiful, and painful - Jay Coles weaves a devastating account of loss, love, family, and race. Marvin feels so real - he’s lost in grief and pain - but he’s also a young teenager - exploring his feelings, applying to colleges growing up, falling in love. You ~feel~ for and with Marvin. You feel his loss, his anger, his betrayal, and it is a testament to Coles’ writing how breathtakingly beautiful this book was. This was a quick read, but no less impactful for its length.

Utterly unputdownable, with a stunning cover - Tyler Johnson was Here paints a gorgeous, vulnerable, and complicated picture of what it means to be a young Black man growing up in America.

This is a must read.

A Must Read
This story made me feel sad, angry and even afraid at times. Tyler Johnson died when he shouldn't have. He should have been safe in his own neighbourhood, but he wasn't. Now his twin, Marvin, is left to figure out what happened to him and how to move forward.

With the unfailing support of his mother and his two closest friends, Ivy and G-mo, Marvin is able to search within himself and his community for answers. Screaming back at him is the colour of his skin. It is the first thing that a lot of people notice when they look at another person.

Did Tyler get caught up in a bad decision he made, or did some one look at him and decide that because of his skin colour he must be doing something bad. Marvin experienced a lot of anguish as he broached these questions. On top of that, he had to find the strength to face the media, his classmates and their opinions.

This is a powerful tale. The first time I opened it and started reading, I closed it after a few pages. I wasn't ready for the emotional impact I knew it was going to throw at me. A few hours later, I cleared a block of time and dove in. While I love the book and the main characters, I am sad that we still need these tales to be told. I have faith, like Marvin, that we as a sociaty can move forward and do what's right. At present we need authors such a Jay Coles to present these stories and show us how to proceed.

This book would be a great subject for a class room discussion ot to read as a family.

A good book, but it didn't grab me as strongly as THUG, Dear Martin, or Long Way Down. The writing was just a little weaker, but I have no doubt the author will grow as a writer with each book as the talent is there.

This follows Marvin Johnson a black boy whose twin brother goes missing but is then found in the woods dead and looks to have been killed by a police officer. This is very similar to The Hate U Give I just found it was too short and lacked the secondary characters growth like it did in THUG or Dear Martin. It also seemed to lack the emotional impact THUG gave readers. Now I won't denounce that this is a very important book and comes from a voice you don't often see in literature and it does showcase the feeling and turmoil of losing a sibling which you didn't see in THUG or Dear Martin I just think THUG did it better and would recommend it over this book when I am selling it. But if someone loved THUG I would for sure recommend this one as there next read. even if it is lacking some parts.

A very powerful book that not only examines police brutality but the devastation it causes the family of the victims. As someone with siblings, this hit me hard. This deserves to be right up there with books like The Hate U Give and Dear Martin.

This book was powerful and important. I cried through a lot of it and found comfort in a lot of it. There were also some sexist comments that were never called out on page. This wasn't the topic of the book, sure, but it was present unchallenged and so still a flaw in my opinion. It was also a short, quick read which has it's benefits but also left me feeling like there could have been more to it.

I wanted to like it so much more than I actually did like it. I think this type of book is amazing and can really change how people see the world. When The Hate U Give came out, it rocked the world and made some people think about things they never had to before, or that would never have occurred to them to think about. You will never know what it is like to truly be someone else and I give huge kudos to the authors that are trying to cross that gap, to create a better understanding. I love the idea of this story. A POV from a young black man whose twin brother is murdered because of police brutality and racism. Both boys grow up with people having expectations of them. They are expected to join a gang and not accomplish much, like their father who is in prison. Except that their father is in prison because he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and couldn’t prove innocence. Marvin creates his own expectations of himself, particularly what school he should go to for his postsecondary education but he doesn’t really think about the school that he wants to go to. We don’t really find out much about Tyler. The story could have been fleshed out a little more. There were lots of characters but not a lot of character development. A lot of big things happened to Marvin but most of them were breezed by and yet a lot of time was spent on detailing how much he cried. I think it’s great that the author was allowing the male lead to show and clearly express emotions but it could have been done in a different way. The story idea is great; I just never connected to the actual story.

If I could give a star for every time I had burst into tears while reading #tylerjohnsonwashere, this would be a hundred star review. My heart was ripped open, shredded, shattered, poured into, powered up, pieced together, found fear, fought fear...the impact was astonishing.

...and the whole time I'm reading I'm thinking: I wish this book didn't ring so true...

Jay Coles tells a real story, raw and honest and beautiful. One that needs to be told. One that needs to be read. One that needs to be understood.

Tissues on the ready about 55% through.