Race is a very hot button topic right now. After being tormented for centuries black people are speaking out and making people aware that this madness has to end. Racism needs to be called out in open discussion. The book's use of both black and white narrators add different perspectives to the event. Fans of THUG will enjoy this.

**Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy of I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones from SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for review purposes. Thank you to them for this opportunity.

I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones is a hard hitting YA Contemporary novel that hits the shelves on August 6th, 2019. I gave it 4/5 stars on GoodReads, but my actual rating is probably a 4.5/5.

Here is the summary from NetGalley:

From #OwnVoices debut author duo Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones comes a page-turning and timely story about two teenage girls—one black, one white—who only have each other to get through the violent race riots enveloping their city over the course of one night.

Lena and Campbell aren’t friends.

Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she’s going to make it big.

Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.

They aren’t friends. They hardly understand the other’s point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they’re going to survive the night.

I'm Not Dying With You Tonight is one of those books that really makes you think. It doesn't make you think because the writing is particularly complicated but because of the subject matter. What this book was actually about it so relevant in our present day society that I really feel like this is a book that everyone should read. I was really impressed with how the authors got their point across without making it feel like they were hammering a lesson into your brain.

One of the things I loved about this book was the pacing of it. The whole story takes place over the course of one afternoon and evening and I was worried it would drag and get boring. However, the authors are quick to introduce you to our protagonists Lena and Campbell, tell you about them, explain why they are where they are, throw them together and then get the story going. Once the action starts the novel is fast paced and hard to put down because you need to know that Lena and Campbell are going to be safe.

Another thing I really liked was the voices of the two characters. The novel is told in dual point of view, with Lena and Campbell having alternating chapters. Each girl has a very distinct voice which makes it easy to tell who is speaking on the off chance you forgot whose chapter you were reading. Each girl also read really realistically and I really felt like I was in the head of two unique teenage girls. They let out their worries and fears in their thoughts and you were really able to get to know them. Both girls were round and dynamic, with strengths and flaws that made them feel like people you might encounter in real life.

I also really appreciated the way the characters interacted. Lena and Campbell are not friends at the start of the story and they spend much of it clashing with one another. They argue over stupid things but later they get into deeper conflicts that deal with racism and prejudice and how to understand that bias. As the story progresses, the girls grow and learn from each other and come to a better understanding of the other and it ends in a way that gave me hope for the future.

The story dealt with some mature themes as I previously mentioned as it starts with a smallish conflict over a racist remark and then blows up into a massive conflict that spreads across the city. This story dealt with those mature themes in a way that is accessible and also well handled. I felt that they addressed the problems, and while obviously one novel can't fix racism in the whole world, it seemed to me that they dealt with Campbell's internalized racism in a way that taught the reader something.

I know this is somewhat vague, but I really think that this is a novel better enjoyed and read without it being spoiled because it's a very good book. I highly recommend it, and if the summary and/or what I've mentioned interests you at all, I recommend checking out I'm Not Dying With You Tonight when it comes out in early August.

Thank you for reading and thanks again to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity!

Didn't love this book; but the topic is important and I think we will still purchase. It didn't grab my attention at the beginning, so it'd be hard to convince most of my teens to read it.

This is the type of dramatic story that urban teens love: race issues, sports and dance teams, teen relationships...and in the end, a new and unlikely friendship develops.

I was so excited when I learned about this book. I loved other books with this general topic, but they largely focus on boys – this one had female MC’s! But, sadly, I just didn’t enjoy this title much. Even though it was short (only 160 pages), it seemed interminable.

My biggest problem with this book was that it was all plot, but the plot had no arc. On the plus side, this book had action from the get-go, which can really hook some students – esp. reluctant readers. But the action just went and went and went. We started with a giant-sized, seemingly unending brawl at the school, then straight into a riot downtown, and then an almost point-blank shooting. The plot started at 10 and stayed there until the very abrupt ending. But, strangely, I didn’t feel like there was a realistic conflict the MC’s were trying to solve. Yes, they were trying to get to safety, I guess, but the conflict at school and the riot aren’t ever really resolved, we just leave them behind and move on. And the conflicts didn’t really directly involve the main characters – the fight and riot/looting were happening around them, but the characters were just moving through the action, not really engaging. At least that’s how it felt to me. Also, because the tension is so high from the beginning and the ending just ends, there is no arc to the plot. And, on a related note, the fight and the riot just didn’t feel believable to me, which I think is a result of not enough world-building. BRIEF mentions are made to rivalry between the two schools, racism, and a racist governor, but those backstory issues aren’t ever fleshed out enough to make what is happening in the story feel real.

I was very disappointed that there wasn’t more character development. I think both Lena and Campbell could have been very interesting characters, but we never really know enough about them to “get” them or care about them. Then, just as they are starting to develop, starting to see beyond each other’s skin color and stereotypes, the story suddenly ends. This story would have a much greater emotional impact if these characters had been given as much attention as the plot.

The greatest upside to this book was the themes. This book speaks to the importance of putting aside preconceived ideas of people and groups, the double-standards related to race that are so prevalent in our society, the way experience colors our perceptions, and police mistreatment of people of color. These are all topics/themes that are current and relevant to teens and which will resonate with many.

There were other minor inconsistencies within the text that annoyed me (like at one point Campbell said Lena had given her back her phone, then two pages later, Lena was tapping away on the screen of her phone?!? Or that the sandwich shop where Campbell’s dad wanted her to get a job had never materialized, but then it was suddenly open and in business and sheltering teens during the riot). But, those were minor issues for me; the unrealistic, “high-octane,” arc-less plot is really what killed this book for me. Add to that the lack of three-dimensional characters, and I just can’t really get behind this book at all.

This book clocks in at 272 of some of the fastest pages I have ever read. It alternates between two voices. Campbell is new to McPherson High School, doesn't know anyone, and still isn't sure what she's doing here or how she got roped into helping run the concession stand at this weekend's football game. Lena, stylish and assertive, grew up here and knows how to handle herself when sh*t goes down...or at least, she thinks she does. Neither are expecting to find themselves in the middle of the fight that breaks out at halftime, but the riot that ensues forces them to band together to escape the school unscathed, and escaping the school is only the beginning. Their night is about to take a turn from bad to much, much worse. These two young women may live in the same city, but it's clear from their first interaction that they come from different worlds. With only each other to rely on, will they be able to work together and keep the silent promise they've made each other?

The pace of this book pulls the reader in from the first chapter, taking you along as Lena and Campbell escape the concession stand, trying to find their way home, and it will have you on the edge of your seat until the last pages. The characters all felt like people I could have gone to school with in high school, and the emotions Lena and Campbell experience leap off the page. The differences in Lena and Campbell's experiences also provide a frank look at racism in the United States. This book is a conversation starter, and it's a conversation that needs to be had.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book. However, the emotional flow as well as the flow of events felt choppy, I didn't come to like or click with either of the main characters, and I could have done without some of the crude language. (Not language in relation to something serious happening, but when it seems crude for the sake of crudeness.) The story has an interesting basis, but the style/delivery didn't "pop" for me.

The bold and virtually reversible book cover is great, though.
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I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Campbell doesn’t want to be in Atlanta. Forced to move in with her dad after her mom gets a new job in Venezuela, she’s had to leave her old school in Haverford (New England) to come to the south. Right now, she’s mostly just existing, not really belonging anywhere. But her English teacher convinces her to work concessions one night at the foootball game, a decision that’ll change a lot.

Lena has grown up in Atlanta, and she has a boyfriend Black who she wishes would pay more attention to her. She has plans to meet up with after the football game, after she sees her friends perform at half-time.

But during half-time, after the marching band finishes performing, a fight breaks out that quickly turns into a brawl. Lena finds herself taking shelter in the concession stand with Campbell, and the two unwillingly form a bond to survive this brawl after shots ring out.

I’m Not Dying With You Tonight adds a conversation to the race discussions that are occurring everywhere but also in YA literature. To some extent, this reminds me of All-American Boys in that this important book uses a white author and black author which adds a certain type of nuance. Throughout the book, Campbell becomes more aware of her white privilege while Lena also realizes that while Campbell may have white privilege, she is lacking privilege in other areas such as socioeconomic status.

As a final note, some readers will want to criticize the actions of Lena and Campbell throughout the book. It’s important to remember that these two have been put into the middle of a crisis situation, and while Lena has experienced gun shots before at an event, this is the first time that she’s been really trapped in that situation. People in crisis situations do all sorts of things that may not make sense to someone outside of that situation or even to someone who has been in a crisis situation but responded differently. I found their actions completely believable.

This is definite must-read.

I’m Not Dying with You Tonight releases August 6.

I really enjoyed this book! I think this is a very important book considering our social climate right now. There are more books nowadays addressing issues such as police brutality and race relations, but this one addresses those issues in a unique way by having POVs of two girls with different backgrounds and mentalities.

The whole movement of #BlackLivesMatter has touched thousands of lives, and the authors of this book are not strangers to that. The story of Lena and Campbell, albeit sometimes focused solely on the tragedy happening in the background, developed into a scne where I wanted to help them run away from danger. The football game, the riot, the danger they face, and the understanding of each other in the most dire of circumstances made me realize, that the real message behind this novel was to make the reader aware of the real privileges between races. The sad but truthful reality of the society we live in nowadays. Tho I enjoyed each character's developent, I was still left with questions about some issues presented:

The store break in?
Venezuela?
What does Campbell's mom actually do for a living?

The one night they save each others lives is supposed to mark them, but i didnt feel at the end there was a chance of stretchibf the bond further.

Could it be me? I loved the overall story and situations. They have helped me figure out a lot of things in my own life, but i have a little bit of doubt with others. Nothing bad, and I still give this 4 stars cause I couldnt put this down. At all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC, out 8/19!

I've been wanting to get my hands on this one since I heard Angie Thomas gushing about it. This book is very closely related to topics that The Hate U Give and On the Come Up deal with, and I felt as though these characters could live in the same world, or neighboring cities. I really liked the split narrative and could see how both authors lent their voices to each chapter. I read this book in less than a day, and wished there had been more to it. I feel like that was my only complaint; that there wasn't enough to this story. I wanted to know what happened after Lena got home, whether she and Campbell became friends through their shared trauma, what the fallout of the riots were. Because of this, I felt that it ended very abruptly, though I liked the last line of the book. Part of me hopes that maybe there will be a sequel, or that maybe the ending is a little longer in the finished copy. Besides that, this book is following in the footsteps of Angie Thomas' work and I think it will become just as important and talked about.

This book doesn't sit right with me. If I was rating this on pure entertainment value, it'd be a 5 stars because this was un-put-downable. But, you know how it's good that some books will make you uncomfortable, because you need that to grow ? It could have been that, but it wasn't for me. We didn't go enough in the subject and I feel like racial discussions were overshadowed by the main action. In my opinion, the authors missed out on having really deeper conversations.

There's a lot of casual racism here emanating from the white MC. What is said out loud is generally called out for (but not always explained why what the character says his bad). But. The white MC sometimes thinks things that she should be called for and aren't, because the conversation is happening in her head. And this work in reinforcing stereotypes. Also, when she has these racist reflexions out loud, she's not regretting thinking that, she's regretting she got CAUGHT saying that out loud. No growth on that part.

Finally, it also makes me uncomfortable to read a thriller about a riot. I feel like it's voyeurism to entertain myself with a book in which the action, violence and death are drawn from a real and just cause. I wouldn't feel that way if meaningful conversations had been added to the text.

Not the masterpiece that is THUG, but a great companion read. At first I didn't feel like I would be able to get into the characters since they both spoke with heavy slang pertinent to their backgrounds, but after a while, they just felt like kids I knew. This book is very fair-handed, giving each girl the chance to discover something about herself, her own upbringing and her companion as they race across town trying to find safety during a riot. I'd love to see Segal and Jones continue to work together to bring more answers and more thought provoking questions to teens with their fiction.

I love books that put things in perspective. The 2 POVs from very different girls, set this book apart from so many.

The overall premise of Segal and Jones’s I’m Not Dying with You Tonight is that two girls from very different worlds collide when chaos breaks out at a football game that they both decided to attend. Before this night, neither of them knew of the other but they find that they must rely on each other in order to survive.

THE CONFLICT
Campbell is the new girl in school. She has just moved to Atlanta and is treated much like new kids usually are– as an outcast with no friends and that feeling of not belonging. Campbell is also white and is perceived by Lena to be just another “rich white girl.”While Lena, on the other hand, is black, and she is popular with a killer boyfriend and knows that she is going to make it big. She sees her entire life before her and is excited for where she is headed.

The two girls do not know each other before the Friday night game. They choose to attend it and are thrown together out of circumstance. A fight breaks out at the game and a police officer is shot. Chaos quickly takes over and a riot ensues. The girls are thrown together in the hysteria and quickly realize that they must rely on each other for survival.

SURVIVING ATLANTA
Atlanta is a tough city as is. My first residency for my doctoral degree took me there in 2015. We were in such a rough area of the city that we were told not to leave the hotel. Which was crazy to me because the hotel we stayed at was the hotel that was used for The Capital in The Hunger Games. We were told repeatedly that if you did not know Atlanta not to venture out.

It seems like that advice was solid advice because Segal and Jones paint a similar picture of Atlanta. In I’m Not Dying with You Tonight, Campbell and Lena are tossed onto the streets of Atlanta as they try to avoid the chaos and the violence that has erupted following the fight and the subsequent shooting that occurred. They realize that their only escape towards Lena’s boyfriend and eventually home is to get through Tilman Park, the “worst hood in Atlanta.”

SURVIVING EACH OTHER
Along with surviving the violence that has overtaken much of the city, the girls also have to address and survive their biases towards one another. Lena is the popular girl while Campbell is just trying to get through school. Lena thinks Campbell is just another rich white girl even though that can’t be farther from the truth and Campbell reveals her own biases towards Lena in their dialogue and decisions she makes towards their survival.

This is a rather short YA read at 150 pages so the novel does not go deeply into the race relations, ideas on privilege and teenage female friendship– but the nuances are there and this could serve as a springboard for much more in-depth conversations with the younger side of Young Adult readers. I will be adding a few copies to my classroom library this fall.

Overall, while in places the book feels very character driven at the start, it quickly turns to plot driven as the girls spend the remainder of the novel jumping from place to place trying to get to Lena’s boyfriend so that he can get them home. The drive to reach Lena’s boyfriend was a little odd to me because he was not answering any of her calls. Why would you put your life on the line to get to him if he wasn’t answering his phone? Why not try to get home without the help of your boyfriend? Ultimately, the girls do each get home and we are left to wonder if a friendship will now develop between the two and if in attempting a friendship if the girls’ biases towards one another would ever be fully addressed and resolved.

BOOK INFORMATION
I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2019, from Sourcebooks Fire with ISBN 1492678899. This review corresponds to an advanced electronic galley that was received from the publisher in exchange for this review.

I really enjoyed the dual perspectives in this story because they opened windows into wider issues in our society. In essence, two girls, one black one white, are trying to get home from a football game gone wrong. What should be a short and quick journey takes a turn for the worse when a riot breaks out and the girls are caught in the middle. Interestingly, the plot takes a backseat to deeper insight about race relations, societal interactions of black and white people, and even relationship dynamics both intra and interracial. I found it compelling and really liked the character development of Lena and Campbell. This would be a great readalike for the more popular BLM teen novels right now, such as The Hate U Give and Tyler Johnson Was Here.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy!

I recommend checking out this short but impactful YA novel. My full review will be coming closer to the release date.

I enjoyed the writing and how fast-paced this book was. I finished it in a day. Who knew that if you just put down your phone you can get some reading done haha.

I loved this book! We follow two characters; Lena and Campbell. They are both very different and are put into a crazy situation! The whole book centers around a whole night of chaos and craziness in Atlanta in a racially divided community. A fight in the highschool results in a shoot out and the whole town erupting into a full on riot! The whole book is full of suspense and action with the characters being thrown into so many different situations! I was on the edge of my seat through out the entire time!

I don’t think this book was for. It felt very much on the “younger” side of YA for characters- but with an important plot. But that could be the adult in me annoyed that a teenager girl would have her life revolve around a boy who doesn’t deserve it. I also would of loved to see a lot more character development.