This is a profound story, but ultimately I wanted more character development. This is definitely a more plot focused book, so if that's what you like to read you will definitely enjoy this.

This book was fantastic. I read it straight through in a few hours which says a LOT as a mom to a high needs toddler (sacrificed my sleep for it!!) At times it felt just slightly heavy handed with the “clueless white girl who doesn’t understand racism,” but for a YA book that’s probably a better approach - I have to remember I’m coming at it from a jaded 30 something perspective. The complex relationships between the characters and amount of development that occurred in a single night was impressive.

Campbell, the new white girl at school, reluctantly agrees to help at the concession stand at the football game. Lena is a popular African American girl who goes to the game to see her friends perform at the halftime show. A fight erupts between students of the rival schools, and the situation goes from bad to worse in a hurry. The girls are thrown together through circumstance and must rely on each other to survive the violence of the night. The authors deftly weave the narration of Campbell and Lena together to tell two sides of the same story. They reveal the faulty assumptions and stereotypes held by both girls in the midst of their struggle to survive a scary situation. Despite the tense action, the language is clean. Highly recommend.

This book opens with a huge fight at a high school football game. When things go from bad to worse, high school students Lena and Campbell end up together, albeit reluctantly. They don't really know each other, but when times are scary and no one else is around, who are you going to depend on? Fighting, rioting, looting, you name it, it's covered here. The girls make one bad decision after another in their journey across the city streets. A quick read that fans of The Hate U Give and All American Boys will love.

Am currently reading and thoroughly enjoying. Will be back to post a formal review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC.

I went into this book expecting something like Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely's All American Boys. What I got was something a little less character-driven, but ultimately tackling some heavy stuff. I think this book could have been excellent, but suffered from too-much-plot, not enough character. At times it felt like our protagonists were making decisions simply meant to move the plot from point A to point B. There were several loose ends I would have liked to see tied up by the end of the book. On the other hand, I loved the contrasting voices of our two main characters and I think that is this book's biggest strength. Not my favorite, but definitely worth a read.

**I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. My opinions are my own. **

It took me longer than I would have liked to finish this book, mostly because it was a book that I felt I needed to devote my attention to, and with a sick baby I didn't have the time to read it like I would have wanted. With the amount of racial tension that is still occurring in America today, I thought this book did a great job of handling the topic in an interesting but educational way.

The story is told in alternating points of view between Lena, a young black girl, and Campbell, a young white girl. While at a football game, the girls get caught in a shooting that incites a riot. Neither of them truly has a way to escape, so they decide to stick together and try to make it to Lena's boyfriend, so that he can take them home safely. Throughout the night they both learn things about themselves and about each other. They do not trust one another, barely know one another, but have to work together in order to survive. Each girl sees people of her own race, that she knows well, behave in ways she didn't think they were capable of.

They both make it home safely, but the reader is left knowing that these two girls' lives are changed forever, and wondering if there is a friendship building between the two girls. I for one was impressed with the writing and the way the topic was handled. We all have our misconceptions of people and this book proves that sometimes it's the people you least expect that you need in your lives the most. I could see this book being turned into a movie, and would definitely recommend it to some of our YA readers.

Campbell and Lena come from completely different worlds. When they are thrown together during a night of rioting and violence, will they be able to bridge the racial divide?

I'm Not Dying with You Tonight does a good job of showing how racial tension leads to misunderstanding and sometimes violence. I think the ending lacks a little bit of depth, but the action makes this a great choice for reluctant readers.

Thank you to Netgalley, the authors, and the publisher for allowing me to read this book prior to publish date!

Absolutely captivating!
At first I was having trouble reading Lena's sections of the book but it got easier within 15% into the book.

(This book does deal with race issues.)

Campbell is new to McPherson High School. Let's face it we all know how the new girl is treated. No friends, an outcast, weird, you name it. Add all that to beingin high school and it makes for a miserable time. With all that Campbell resides to help out a teacher and run the concession stand. During the band show the concession stand gets overwhelmed with people,and while Campbell was suppose to have help from two other students, one bails and the other hangs by the back door. All of a sudden a fight breaks out. The fight then turns into a riot. That's when Lena truss to help Campbell with no luck.
As the fight gets worse a police officer was shot. Lena tries to call her boyfriend Black to come get her but her phone dies. Campbell offers hers but it's in the potable classrooms. This means they need to leave the safety of the concession stand and run into the would brawl that's right outside. Black says hes down on 7th st and if Lena can get to him he'll take her home. The girls decide to go. Onlyone problem the quickest easy is police blockaded and Lena freaks out. So they go a different way ... The only way out... Through first ave and Tillman park. The worse "hood" there is. Do they make it to 7th? Does Black save Lena and Campbell? I'll let you read to find out the rest!

I wanted this book so bad but it wasn’t what I was expecting it was good don’t get me wrong but I feel like the characters got themselves into some of the stuff that they got into and the racial part was deep but I feel like to got thrown in too fast too soon but it was a good book overall

I don't even know where you start with this. As much as I want to say it was a fun read because it was a non stop roller coaster of emotions on crack, it was also brutal and violent and heart wrenching. Lena and Campbell are not friends. But if you can't find a bond with someone after spending 12 hrs together, packed full of rioting and violence, y'all have no heart.
What begins as the story of a new girl in a new town with no friends and a girl coping with a belligerent boyfriend becomes the story of 2 girls trying to survive together, no matter their differences. 2 thumbs up.

This book was really good. Not quite what I expected it to be at the start - it's really more of a 'one night in the life of' type of story. The comparisons/comp reads of All American Boys, Dear Martin, The Hate U Give make sense for sure, and I would hand this book to readers who liked those books. It's a book I'd want in every high school library and I appreciated the alternating perspectives that make this book as strong as it is.

Amidst all the drama and racial tension of I'm Not Dying with You Tonight, is the story of two young women, who come from different worlds despite only living a few blocks apart. Lena and Campbell personify everything that we need: two people who push through their differences to do the right thing for each other.

But, very little of their physical journey made sense to me. It seemed out of character for Lena-portrayed as a tough, no nonsense girl-to risk her life (and Campbell's) to get to a man who wouldn't even answer her calls. Even as the girls made their way toward Lena's boyfriend, the narrative didn't seem to vary much. And, I thought that the racial issues were unbalanced. I expected to see understanding of their situations from both girls, but that's not what happens. While Campbell recognizes what Lena goes through every day, we never see Lena walk back from her accusations that Campbell is just a "rich white girl", which was far from the truth. The story would have had more impact if their had been that mutual understanding between the girls, enhancing what they'd done for each other during their journey.

I adored the writing style of I'm Not Dying With You Tonight. It was very straightforward at times and I loved the raw honesty it put forth.

A very poignant look at today's society that could be hard for some to swallow, but brilliantly told with characters that you can really see yourself in.

This book was meh. There have definitely been some that I liked more than this, this year for sure. will try the author again though.

This book was presented to me as a "Read Now" on NetGalley, and the premise seemed interesting so I snatched it up. I was imagining an end of the word apocalypse/Purge type scenario mixed with a race relations drama. However, the first half of my prediction was very diluted while the second was very surface level.

The book describes the night as "sudden mass chaos", but I don't really agree with that phrasing. The riot at the football game and the town center do happen quickly, but I wouldn't define it as chaos. Perhaps I just expected too much.

As other reviewers have said, the book is very plot driven (ie "We need to get from here to there!") versus character driven. The main characters both make various decisions that don't make a lot of sense when considering the information given to us.

Furthermore, I feel like the discussion of race relations was not given true justice others than a few passing, topical lines. Many of the race related events are based in real events that have occurred in 2018/2019, but they're not fleshed out enough for us to really understand the impact. It would have been nice for the action to slow down at some points to allow for real conversation between Lena and Campbell (who is randomly called Becky throughout the book - something I didn't quite understand).

While it was a fast read, I think it would have benefitted from a few more chapters that examined what happened next, both on a friendship level of the girls and within the town.

I don't regret reading this book, as it was enjoyable, but I wish it were just more. It's hard to give a recommendation on it one way or another.

*I received a free ARC in return for an honest review*

When Lena and Campbell are stuck at a football-game-turned-riot, the two have to work together to survive the night.

I really, really wanted to like this book. The plot seems promising and the characters are interesting. But the plot meanders and the story never seems resolved. Every page is running from one place to another, only to realize it's not safe, and then run somewhere else. So many story threads, such as Campbell's relationship with her mom or Black being a generally crappy boyfriend, are never really concluded.

The characters are weirdly flat and one-dimensional. None of them ever seem to grow or change. Also, it's extremely hard to understand where the characters are at any one point in time. They spend most of the book moving from place to place but I could never really catch where they were or where that was in relation to other places.

There wasn't one big thing that stopped me from enjoying the book. It just didn't do it for me.

The Quick Cut: Two teen girls from different racial backgrounds find their bias exposed when they work together to get home.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We all have our own bias that guides how we look at the world. Whether you want to admit it or not, it pushes you to look at people, places, and even hobbies a specific way. However, what happens when you're placed face first in front of those discriminations that guide you? This is the story we see play out between Campbell and Lena.

These two girls live on opposite side of the social spectrum and do NOT understand one another. While Lena has her style and boyfriend she is devoted to, Campbell is just doing whatever it takes to get through high school. Unfortunately, when chaos breaks out at a school game and a riot ensues, these girls find their world's colliding when they work together to escape the chaos and get home.

This story finds a very clever way to expose the bias of each girl in many different ways. Not only do the chapters go back and forth in the narration between the girls, but the running creates a scenario to seeing the way they think. This is a very short book at around 150 pages, but it suits the story and any longer would feel like page filling.

The great part about this story is that each girl is flawed with a difficult situation they're trying to deal with. No one has the upper hand and each one needs the other to bring to light the problem they ignore. Both are likeable and you empathize with what's happening in their lives.

The only downside to this story is the unbelievability of the scenario. I don't see these 2 in real life going together like this, so you do have to dispel your sense of realism to fully enjoy it.

With an important story to tell, this book tugs at essential realisms of life between 2 girls.

My rating: 4 out of 5

Two girls one Black one White, struggle to stay out of harm's way when a racial incident escalates into police violence during a high school football game. Lena and Campbell don't know each other but are thrown together trying to outrun the riots which have spread city wide. They are both dealing with family and relationship issues which make their situation even dicier. Despite having very different perceptions about what is going on, they must somehow learn to trust each other and work together to find safety.

Lena and Campbell are well fleshed out characters, making their decisions and reactions feel honest. The compelling narrative ratchets up the tension as things get harder and harder for them as they traverse the city. The story will no doubt inspire conversations about trust, how interactions with law enforcement are not the same for all communities, and how important it is to step outside of your own experience to understand someone else's.

Fluid, fast-paced, tense, stimulating, genuine.

In one night, two teenage girls who were merely classmates have to escape a racially charged high school fight that escalates to shots fired, looting, fires, and police descending with riot gear. One girl's keenness for how "these scenes play out" and the other's wherewithal trigger their survival modes and, refreshingly, their human kindness keeps them together to escape through citywide chaos.

Each chapter is written from genuine, authentic voices that reveal how distinctly presumptuous Lena and Campbell are. Sometimes the presumptions are stereotypical; other times, they are honest thoughts. They all are quick and stark; some are funny, all are self-reflecting. Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal weave in and out the fanatical nuances of racial ignorance (characters in the same space and time but clueless of the others cultural being), nuances of allegiance and egos in Black love, friendships, and loyalties (heated exchanges between Black males on territory and survival), nuances of white privilege and communal protection (acknowledging where Campbell can move or not), and the nuances of female teenagers whose innocence are transparent and uncompromised (girls instinctively catching hands or jumping before an attacked to protect each other).

Awesome elements in I'M NOT DYING WITH YOU TONIGHT are the multiple climaxes as the girls run through fighting crowds, busted buildings, smoke/fire, and away from police---only to get closest to death at home! This reader shouted at characters and yelled when they proclaimed the title. In all that is conflicted with society--as Segal and Jones present in this book--it is reassuring that this YA novel delivers soundly the truth that humanity can still rise.

(Maybe a sequel can guide humanity to healing.)

Amazing 5-star read. We should anticipate a great audiobook!

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