Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Kim Johnson delivered an outstanding debut, and I ended up liking this book much more than I originally expected. I LOVED The Hate U Give and it has been a while since I've read it, so it was refreshing to read another work of fiction surrounding important topics such as racism and social injustice. While Johnson highlighted some corrupt pieces in our court system, she also included a good police officer who tried her best to make things right. Even the love triangle in this book was carefully considered and well-thought-out. I may be adding Johnson to my "auto-buy authors" list.

This book was one of my most anticipated books of this year and it did not disappoint. I've been reading a lot of fictional works that talk about Black Lives Matter topics and this one dealt with many important issues including the prison system, racism, death row, prejudice in police force, etc. What I enjoyed most about this book was the premise and plot. The main character's father was on death row for a murder he was falsely accused for.  The town that she lived in was very divided on matters with race and the conversations that were brought up were really important ones to try and get a better understanding of what Black people might feel in regards to the law and police. The same people who are sworn to protect them are also the ones who are afraid of them. Tracy was a strong and resilient main character. Even when she put herself in dangerous situations, she only ever wanted what was best for her family. The reason I didn't rate this book higher was the writing style in a few places were a little bit choppy. The characters, although I really appreciated most of them, didn't have much to them. I wish I got to more about what type of person Jamal was, or saw some more development in Tracy. The plot and story was my favorite part as I mentioned and if it had been woven together with more complex characters in a more clear way I would have liked it even more. I understood why certain things occurred, but occasionally the dots didn't connect in the manner I wanted.  I think there was room for this book to be amazing and it didn't quite hit that mark. 


I do believe this book should be read by everyone because we all have something to learn from it. I'm going to give trigger warnings for the KKK and lynchings because that might not be something some of my Black readers want to read about. 


Writing: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Originality: 9/10
Overall: 42/50
Cover: 9/10

This book is an incredibly compelling and strong debut from an author I want to read much more from. Readers will be so invested in the lives of these characters and their stories, which feel so real and unsettling. Exploring racism, the death penalty, the judicial system, and police brutality, this book should be required reading for every child in the United States. Highly, highly recommend.

I hope this gets the same hype that The Hate U Give and Dear Martin got. I thought the character's were so well fleshed out and I enjoyed the slight mystery aspect to this. I loved reading from Tracy's point of view - I don't know how best to explain this but even though she was so determined and hopeful, I feel like you could still tell that her experience with the criminal justice system and society in general broke her a little bit which was completely heartbreaking. I definitely could have done without the romance aspect but I know others will like that.

In the times of where Black Lives Matter is finally the center of attention, This Is My America is a book that everyone needs to be reading right now.

For seven years, Tracy has been doing everything she could to free her father from jail for a crime that he did not commit. In the midst of that, her brother Jamal finds himself in a sticky situation so she's got to switch focus on uncovering the truth for Jamal.

This was tough to get into, I'm not sure if it was the content or the writing. It eventually picked up, though, as the story unfolded. Each character made the story more dimensional. There are a few little twists mixed in, but This Is My America mainly focuses on race inequalities and how unfair the justice system is against Black people.

Please add this to your TBR . . . take in its message. Read books by POC authors, amplify their books, and let's do better.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed the author's writing style, though the abundance of run-on sentences was a bit too much. Things tied together in the end, but it too a bit too long to get there and see the connections between the cases.

A number of difficult, but relevant topics, were addressed, including:
- police corruption
- problems with the justice system
- Innocent black men in prison
- Racism (white supremacy)
- stereotypes
- Interracial dating/friendship
- Black Lives Matter

Characters are well drawn and multi-layered. This was a solid example of a YA book, with a bit of mystery thrown in.

5/5 stars

This was an absolutely beautiful, amazing, and completely relevant story. This book put me on an emotional roller coaster from the very start. I knew it was going to be an extremely powerful moving story, and it surpassed any ideas I had. I cannot accurately describe it the emotion I felt while reading this. There were times I was afraid and uncomfortable, and that's how I knew the author did her job right. While I am not black I feel like this is an accurate description of what happens in America. I would put this right at the top with The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I recommend that everyone please gives this book a read.

This Is My America was a beautiful and well-written book. Through a fictionalized account of Tracy’s family and local community, the reader gets a true to life look at being Black in America today. There are themes around wrongful incarceration, racial injustice, the silencing of Black voices, white supremacy and the KKK, the legacy of slavery, Black Lives Matter, and active engagement in supporting social justice. While some of these topics are upsetting, the book was written with hope for the future.

Tracy is a strong and smart high school junior who uses her position on the school newspaper to call students to action. She teaches a workshop on how to react if stopped by the police called Know Your Rights. While she is in the midst of trying to get Innocence X to help prove her father’s innocence, she is faced with her brother also being accused of a crime. With the help of some trusted friends, she begins to uncover the truth.

This book is definitely a must-read look at the trauma caused by mass incarceration and the legacy of white supremacy in our society today.

If there was ever a book that screamed at me to buy, this would be that book.

From the first page, Kim Johnson brings you into the world of the Beaumonts. Tracy, Jamal, Corrinne, her mother, and father James Beaumont. We start off learning that Tracy's father has been in prison for 7 years, and is running out of time on death row. She has been writing letters to Innocence X hoping to get her father represented so that he can appeal his case and get off death row. The clock is ticking, as he has less than a year left before his execution date. On top of all that, her brother Jamal gets accused of killing a white girl at school, and he is on the run, unwilling to be arrested or brought to the police station because he knows what may happen to him.

Tracy is determined to save both her brother and father from prison or death, and we learn about her fight for justice and unwillingness to let things just be. She is a fighter, a problem solver, and believes in uncovering the truth no matter what.

This book brings up very hard hitting topics, wonderfully down under the YA umbrella. Although these topics are hard hitting, they are very much needed in the Black and Brown community. Kim Johnson discusses:
- Corrupt police
- Flawed criminal justice system (guilty until proven innocent for Black people)
- Innocent black men in prison
- Fallout from family during/after prison
- Racism (white supremacy)
- Big private prison business
- Microaggressions and stereotypes from white people
- Integrity
- Interracial dating/friendship
- Teenage life during a crisis
- Black Lives Matter

The range of emotions I felt while reading this book:
- Teary-eyed and cried
- Sad.
- Joy
- Hope
- Tense
- Scary
- Frightening
- Heart pounding

This book amazingly brought together a clear picture of what racism in America is like in real life. All of the subtle racism, in your face racism, and blatant disrespect is all brought to life here. This book should sicken you about the injustices Black people face in the criminal justice system. This book should anger you when understanding how white people can say one thing in your face and do another, hurting or harming Black people for no other reason but because they are Black. The lies white people tell themselves to protect their own interests. This book should make you cry when you feel for Tracy and understand the hopelessness and helplessness she feels as time is running out for her father, who has maintained his innocence since he was sent to prison. White people should check their white privilege every second of every day because they should understand that they are not immune from white supremacy or showing their racism. Even with the best intentions, white people are not immune. Racism permeates and infiltrates everything. It has been what this country was founded on, and what white people's ancestors came to believe and know and teach their children. It's is ingrained in their whole upbringing as a mass.

This book is so real, so timely, so needed, so important. This is a must-read!

Kim Johnson does a phenomenal job on her character development, and we learn about life is like for Tracy and her family. I feel like she is somewhat appealing to white people though, humanizing her characters in such a way to make white people understand that Black people have lives. That we hurt, that we love, that we laugh, that we have family that cares for us. We have love interests, we share secrets with our friends, we enjoy having fun, that we are kids and teenagers just like them. We are no different. If only they didn't hate so much.

"Only recently has it been cemented in my mind and made clear, that acting civil, being deferential, doesn't matter. It's like, Mama has always said, "Black Lives don't matter enough to them." That evidence is live and in color, on every news channel in America."

"Why not "All Lives Matter?" The problem is, that those lives have always mattered. Ours are treated like we're less than equal. Like we don't deserve the same respect."

"We've never caught a break. All those years praying, going to church, looking over our shoulders when we didn't do anything wrong."

"We've been paying a debt that ain't even ours to pay. White folks act like something wrong with us. They hate us."

"All that blood. We built America. Black labor built the greatest nation in the world for free. They ripped us from our family then, and they do it again with new laws disguised as change."

I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially the YA crowd. It's necessary! 5 stars.

My first thought when I finished this book was “More people need to read this.” My second thought was, I wish that this would be turned into a movie for those that don’t read as much! I wasn’t even planning to write out my review today, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this book and needed to get my thoughts out.

Tracy has been writing to Innocence X ever since she was 10 years old when her dad was given the death sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. This organization could give him the attorney and support he needs for a successful appeal, but she has not heard back from them, even though she’s sent letters weekly for 7 years straight. Her dad has less than a year before his execution, and she knows she has to do absolutely anything in her power to save him. Even if her family disagrees with her way of going about it. Then, her brother is accused of being a murderer, and she has to fight for both of them. The son of an accused murderer is an easy subject to pin a murder on, and Tracy has to deal with prejudices of her own classmates at her school during this new case.

I have watched so many true crime documentaries, and I never thought about what was happening to the kids while the parent was on trial. The series always said that the children were put into witness protection and their names changed. I never once thought about those whose parents were not in country-famous cases, whose cases might only be known about in their own small community, and how they would be treated if the justice system left them to fend for themselves. No one has the money to just stop working/going to school until the trial is over (which could take years). Tracy had to deal with going to elementary school while her dad was on trial, and being bullied because her dad was accused of being a murderer. She always knew her dad didn’t do it, but the kids in the neighborhood believed the media that painted him as a criminal/thug. Then she has to deal with it again in high school when her brother is accused, even before the trial has begun, by people that her brother would have called his friends. How many kids in America have dealt with that discrimination/bullying from students (or even possibly teachers) while their parents were on trial? In Tracy’s case, her dad didn’t do anything, but in any case, no kid should have to go through this because of something their parents did.

There is a romance subplot between Tracy and Quincy, a boy whose father was killed by police and framed as a murderer with Tracy’s dad. She also has feelings for a white boy named Dean who she has been friends with for a long time. I usually hate love triangles in books, but I didn’t hate this one. Tracy had a real reason to like both boys, and both boys genuinely wanted to help her. The romance didn’t take over the story, but it also wasn’t forgotten. Tracy’s character is built on her own merits, not on her relationship with any of the other characters in the book. Her goal of saving her brother and father are hers to achieve, and

This book covers many different aspects of the problems in America with law enforcement, justice, and so many other systems that are supposed to be there to “support” citizens. There is so much to this novel, it is definitely a must-have for a middle school or high school library. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new book to read to educate themselves bout the lives of those who have been abused by the system for years.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 books.

My Fav Quotes:
“They never found the murder weapon, and there were no witnesses. There should have been reasonable doubt, but the all-white jury felt otherwise.”

“Even armed with the knowledge about my rights, all that went out the window. I couldn’t replace the fear with my life on the line.”

This book deals with modern racism in America and is an eye opener. The mystery is excellent, well paced and kept me guessing. This book is very powerful and could be considered a fictional version of Just Mercy. So many different racist issues are brought up and explained in a way that everyone can understand. This is an important book that should be read and shared.

This book should be required reading as should the list of additional resources. It is a YA book that does not pull punches in it's honesty. The protagonist, Tracy Beaumont, is trying to get an appeal for her father who is on death row for murders he did not commit. His conviction mirrors so many real life convictions where the facts do not matter but the color of skin did,. As she fights for her father (while sending regular letters to Innocence X to try to get them to take her father's appeal), additional factors come into play for the family she holds so dear. They may help free her father or they may destroy her whole family. This book gutted me in ways few books can. I highly suggest you add to your TBR along with Kleenex and plans to take your anger from the facts of the book into action.

Still gathering my thoughts about this book, but it is an important one to read. The story follows the narrative of a young women Tracy trying to get her father's case retried. As the days to his execution day draws near, Tracy becomes even more vocal about getting her father's case heard. Kim Johnson provides a gripping story, that takes several devastating turns that actually happen in real life. Johnson provides readers a glimpse of what it is like to battle a criminal justice system that is not fair to everyone. An incredibly powerful story that I will purchase myself, and will advocate readers to read, learn, and talk about.

This book came right on time given that white America just discovered (yet again) that racism didn’t go away after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have A Dream Speech the same decade my parents were born. My mind is STILL reeling wowowowowow. I loved every. single. page.

Without giving anything away, Tracy is a rising senior who works for her school’s newspaper (ya’ll her section is called Tracy’s Corner & I just found it too cute bc Cam’s Corner🥺). Her father is falsely accused of a double murder & is sentenced to death. When you think it can’t get any worse, her big brother Jamal is accused of murder & goes on the run😩

This book high key turns into a murder-mystery! Every other chapter clues become uncovered & you go “nooo!!” & THEN YOU GET A NEW PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT MAKES YOU GO “OHHHH MY GODDDDD!” & the climax?? CHILEEEEEE. I did not expect that at all. or should I have?👀 That’s for you to decide.


Get this book, not only for yourself but also for an ally who wants to know what it’s like to be Black in America. I laughed, I cried, I fought some of these characters in my head… This author drops NOTHING BUT FACTS & STATISTICS THAT HAD ME CLAPPING👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 It won’t surprise me at all when this ends up being a best seller.

Part mystery, part legal drama, part look at racial injustice in America, THIS IS MY AMERICA is a gripping and compelling new YA novel. Johnson has laid out an all too familiar tale of Black men in America being accused and convicted of crimes they didn't commit and the people who are left to pick up the pieces, or to try and find justice. I really loved Tracy as a protagonist, as her voice is filled with authenticity and passion. She is easy to root for, and her complexity and obsession with finding justice for her father and her brother is both very admirable, but also shows how trying that existence can be on a person so young. The mystery of who actually killed Angela was very well crafted, and I greatly enjoyed the twists and turns. Johnson also does a really good job of covering very complex and difficult topics without talking down to her audience, and provides a really thorough author's note at the end that has more resources and background when tackling racism, both societal and systemic, in America. I think that my only qualm was that there was an unnecessary love triangle, but it wasn't too distracting that I was completely taken out of the story at hand.

THIS IS MY AMERICA is very, very well done. I expect it to be the next YA sensation. It really ought to be.

This book straddles the fine line between educating and preaching. Sure Tracy forcefully tells someone when they are wrong and why and it is very obvious that Ms. Johnson has an agenda. But the manner with which it is written does not make the reader feel like they are being lectured. Additionally, the characters and (sadly) the situations feel very real. That makes this a great book to use to introduce systemic racism to young adults who might not be ready for many of the non-fiction books that are being praised. It is easy to identify with Tracy as she struggles to keep her home life in order, advocate for her father who is wrongly on death row, and continue her education, and maybe even decide which boy she likes. Think about it, most teens can reasonably succeed at only one of those things at a time. Add this to the library next to The Hate You Give and I Won't Die With You Tonight as must reads for all teens!

“I want to be angry that Jamal ran, but I can’t blame him. What else are you supposed to do when the world treats you like a monster?”

This Is My America is a book that is so relevant in today’s world and is such a heartbreaking but powerful book. This book follows Tracy as she writes letters to Innocence X once a week to help get her father off death row, which is where he has been for the past seven years. He only has a couple of months left until he will be killed for a crime he didn’t commit. While trying to do everything she can to save her father, her brother Jamal is the main suspect in a murder that happens in their little Texas town. Tracy wants to get to the bottom of what really happened the night Angela was murdered, because she knows her brother is innocent.

I truly loved the characters in this book and had so many emotions reading about them all. While Tracy was the main character, I cherished all of the characters like Jamal, Quincy, Dean, and Steve. The author does a spectacular job on showing what it is like being black in America. Not just with the justice system, but how everything is different for a black person, even walking down the street is completely different and a fearful act.

“It started a debate in history class when white kids asked why it’s not racist to say Black Lives Matter but a problem to say White Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter. What they don’t get is that those lives have always mattered. Ours is treated like we’re less than equal. Like we don’t deserve the same respect. A school shooter can come out alive but a Black kid in handcuffs on the ground can be shot, unchecked. An AK-47 in a white hand got more rights than a Black kid with Skittles.”

I can’t believe this is a debut, I flew through this book in a matter of hours. My heart was filled with sadness and rage reading this book, because this is what’s happening in America. People judge you because of the color of your skin, and even if there is no evidence that you actually did the crime if you are black you will be guilty no matter what. Our system is corrupt and police brutality is a real and true thing. I really loved how the author doesn’t sugar coat anything, while it may be rough to read people need to really read the truth about what is happening in this country. While this is considered a YA Contemporary, it is so much more than that, and if it were up to me every school would have this as a required book to read.

I challenge all of you to add this to your tbr and on July 28th when this book is published please go buy and read it. You will not regret it I promise you!

This is My America by Kim Johnson was a phenomenal read. It's odd to start with the end of the book, but I have to note that once I read the author's note I so appreciated the intentionality with which she wrote this story. Don't read this until the end and also make sure to read this when you get there, as when you do you'll understand and appreciate the story she tells so much more. So, what is that story? I'm glad you asked because I want to talk about this one! The story focuses on Tracy. Each week, Tracy writes a letter to Innocence X asking them to help her father who is on death row. Time is running out, and Tracy is doing all she can to help. Then, Tracy's brother, Jamal, is accused of killing his girlfriend. Jamal is now on the run, and Tracy wants to also do what she can to prove his innocence as well. Y'all, this was a powerful piece. It's an emotional read, but its power and impact is also in the way it explores the systemic nature of issues. It peels back the layers as Tracy does all she can to help her dad and brother and encounters obstacles, lies and hard truths. This is one I devoured both reading slowly to take the story in, while also reading in a day because I was so drawn in. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this late July release. Add this to your lists now y'all. This is one you need to read, discuss with others, and process how this shows up in real life.

I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley. This was my first work by this author and it won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My favorite character had to be tracy and even though this book was not real it dealt with real issues. It resonated more now because of the turmoil that the country is in. I would recommend anyone young and old read this book.

This is My America is a book written by Kim Johnson because it's a book she wanted to see out in the world. The more books that become available about POC for POC, the better our world is for it. The more diversity that becomes available, the less hate there will be able to be in the world. Because we will be learning to understand different perspectives, different experiences than our own.

In the same vein as Just Mercy, this book is about a man who gets sentenced to live out the rest of his life on death row, charged with murders that he didn't commit. His family has an alibi for him, but because white men have provided minimal evidence, he was charged in court. However this book's main perspective comes from Tracy Beaumont, the high school daughter of the man sentenced to live on death row. She's grown up in the last six years without her father, but she's been fighting back by writing letters every week since the arrest to a social justice group who provides free legal assistance to those in need.

Meanwhile, she starts taking the law into her own hands out of concern that the law isn't fulfilling their obligations. Law enforcement seems to be corrupt, and Tracy doesn't trust them after what happened with her father's arrest and trial. So when her brother gets accused of murdering a girl from her High School, Tracy is determined to get to the bottom of it and keep her brother from being unjustly sentenced. I was alternately fascinated with her searching and ability to uncover details that were overlooked and worried that she felt it was more safe to investigate on her own.

There were definitely some dodgy run-ins with law enforcement throughout this book that made it feel exciting. However, there were also scenes that dragged on, or felt like too much for me. There were times that I felt a bit bored. I'm not sure if it was just my timing, or if other people might feel this way whilst reading this, but as much as I wanted to fall in love with this book, something was keeping me from fully enjoying it.