Many thanks to Rockstar Book Tours and Random House Books for Young Readers for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour.

This Is My America is a hard, honest look at what it’s like to be Black in America. It pulls the reader into a close-knit, loving family hurt by a broken system, but one that never gives up hope for the future.

I got such whiplash reading this book, because there were so many parts that just absolutely broke my feels, but at the same time, there were so many hopeful and sweet parts. Even though this is a dark topic, this isn’t necessarily a dark book. Yes, by necessity, there are dark moments, but the message is of moving forward and growing and doing better, and I loved that.

My Thoughts:

- I absolutely loved Tracy’s character, because she never stops fighting for the people she loves. It feels so weird for me to love a character that isn’t, like, Stabby McMurderPants. I’m not sure what’s come over me. Still, Tracy is super fierce in her own right. She refuses to give up, so she does the only thing she knows how to do: keeps pushing for justice. Tracy’s persistence is one of the things I loved about her, because in the face of a world that wants to hold her down, she fights back in whatever small ways she can. She holds local Know Your Rights meetings to help her community understand how to interact with police. She keeps writing fervent letters to Innocent X, despite never getting a response, because she believes in her father’s innocence. It was just so easy to root for her.

- There are so many tough, real scenarios called out in this book, from microaggressions to blatant racism to the way cliques form around racial lines … and this is before we factor in any sort of police/prison plot. As a Black person myself, I can 100% confirm microaggressions are a thing, and sometimes they’re the most insidious form of hate. Even if people don’t consciously know what they’re saying. When someone is overtly racist in a big way, it’s easy to brush that off, because it’s just someone acting a fool, like they do. But microaggressions are built into the structure of society, and they’re things you’re told from a young age about where you fit, who you are, and who you’ll inevitably be. They’re small lies that constantly beat against you until they finally wear you down into believing some aspect of them. Tracy is just trying to live her best life in a majority-white town that’s never really wanted her there, and there are so many little reminders of that.

- I don’t even know what to say about this plot. It made me Hulk levels of angry for these characters. The basic premise is Tracy’s father was convicted with a death sentence and shoddy evidence, the other Black man accused killed, and in the shadow of trying to get this sentence overturned, the cycle seems to be repeating itself with her brother, Jamal. Because as if the first isn’t bad enough, you get to see the second happen in real time and watch the investigation get botched, and it’s just … ugh. This shouldn’t be a thing in this day and age, and it is. I actually really enjoyed the mystery of this. I thought for sure I had the case solved and figured out the guilty party, and I was wrong. I mean, the whole book is about not making snap judgments about people, and I totally did that when assuming who the guilty party was, so well done, Johnson, for totally catching me on that.

- Despite all the dark themes, there are some really uplifting ones, as well, about coming together as a community and family bonds and trying to do better. The family bonds are super strong in this, and I absolutely loved it. It’s easy to fall apart when you’re being persecuted by the community, but that’s not the case. The Beaumonts just get stronger with every adversity they have to face together, and as the book keeps going, they pull in the people around them, too, until there’s this really sweet connection between so many different characters as they fight for the truth. It’s such a bold choice for Johnson to leave the book on a positive note, but I loved that she did, while, at the same time, acknowledging that the struggle doesn’t necessarily just “end” for Tracy.

- This book raises some really hard realities about life as a Black American. I’m not going to say everyone’s experience is like this, because that would be a lie. The truth, though, is that most Black Americans have experienced some part of Tracy’s story, even if it’s “just” microaggressions. If you’re not Black and you want a perspective on what it’s like to be Black in America, this is a good place to start, and it might really open someone’s eyes about how even the “little” things can add up and mean a lot. Especially to a teenager. What I especially liked, though, is that the book offers some small things you can do to make things better, without sounding preachy. There are some small tips snuck in about dealing with police that will serve a reader just as well as it does the characters (hopefully, at least), and it fits nicely in the book without feeling awkward and specifically “for” the reader. The author’s note also offers a lot of resources for further research or where to find more information on certain topics.

James Beaumont, husband and father of three, has been wrongfully sentenced to death. His teenage daughter Tracy is desperately trying to prove her dad's innocence. Then her brother Jamal goes into hiding when he get wrongly accused for the murder of a white girl he was seeing. Tracy is sending weekly letters to Innocence X, but never gets a response. She needs their help getting a good lawyer to represent her father and clear her brother's name. How far will Tracy go to save her father and bring her family back together?

I adored this book! Kim Johnson's debut novel is a mix of crime, mystery, social injustice and romance YA. The story sucked me right in: loved Tracy's character and her search for justice while being an attractive girl and getting boys' attention and being a good student and working at the school's newspaper. So multi-facetted. It was refreshing as, most of the time, female characters only have one main personality trait or interest.

This novel can also be educational as I learned quite a few interesting things such as mass incarceration and the privatization of prisons. I had no idea.

This book was entertaining, smart and brought many emotions in me, The end was wouahhh.. had to keep reading through the tears.

I highly recommend it to all! Thank you so much Net Galley and Random House Children's Books for giving me the chance to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Set in Galveston, Texas, Kim Johnson’s This Is My America follows Tracy Beaumont, a 17-year old African American who is on a mission to save her father, who is sitting on Death Row, convicted of a murder he did not commit. When the novel opens, he has less than one year before he’s put to death and so Tracy is running out of time. She has spent the past seven years writing weekly letters to Innocence X, an organization devoted to help those who have been wrongly incarcerated, pleading with them to take her father’s case.

The matter becomes all the more urgent when tragedy strikes the Beaumont family all over again. The local police arrive at the Beaumont house late one night with an arrest warrant for Tracy’s older brother Jamal. He is the prime suspect in the murder of Angela Herron, the editor of their school newspaper and also the white girl Jamal has been dating in secret. Jamal has no alibi and the sheriff’s son places him at the scene of the crime. Fearing he’s going to suffer the same fate as his dad, Jamal flees and refuses to come home until he can prove his innocence. With the clock ticking on both her father’s and her brother’s lives and still no response from Innocence X, Tracy decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands and starts looking for the evidence that will set them both free and save her family.

This story is hard-hitting on so many levels. As we follow Tracy on what turns out to be an increasingly dangerous journey to find the evidence that will exonerate her family members, the author unflinchingly explores so many tough and all-too-relevant topics, such as systemic racism, corruption in law enforcement, police brutality, the lingering existence of hate groups like the KKK, and the fact that without ample resources, a black person has little chance of successfully defending themselves in our legal system. The deck is just stacked against them. The author really drives her point home though by bringing us into the Beaumont home, where we meet and fall in love with Tracy, Jamal, their mom, and especially with their little sister Corinne, who at only seven years old, has never known her father as a free man. He has always been behind bars. Everything this family has gone through just had me in tears several times while I was reading, especially knowing that even though this account is fictional, the Beaumont’s situation is unfortunately a reality for too many families.

I don’t want to give away anything about the actual murder mysteries, so I’m just going to add that as powerful a read as this is because of its message about racial injustice, it’s also just a flat out fantastic read because the drive to find the real murderers is so riveting.

This Is My America is a hard-hitting exploration of the racial injustices that are so pervasive in American society. It’s a powerful read in that it will make you sad, angry, and frustrated at how little progress we as a society have made to stop the racial injustices, but at the same time, it’s a hopeful story. This is a book I’d love to see as required reading at the high school level because of its message that you’re never too young to start making your voice heard and that no matter how young you are, your voice can actually make a difference.

This is such a great, thought-provoking YA read. I would put this in the category with The Hate U Give as must reads for everyone. It really gave insight into the criminal system and how it does not provide justice for all. I really can’t recommend this enough, especially as everyone is trying to educate themselves!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book that you do not want to miss! If you love audiobooks, This Is My America is narrated by the amazing Bahni Turpin so you know it’s wonderful. Even though I read an e-galley of the book a couple of weeks ago, I had to listen to the audiobook today. It’s excellent!! ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
This is a powerful story about family, love, racial injustice, and standing up for innocent Black men who are criminally sentenced. I loved the characters and unapologetic message of even during the most difficult times, Black people, especially our children are deserving of JOY! This is a powerful story of how 17 year old Tracy Beaumont fights to save her father, and innocent man, who is on death row by writing weekly to the Innocence Project to take his case. When her superstar high school athlete brother Jamal is accused of murdering a white girl, Tracy is relentless and begins to investigate in order to prove his innocence. Whew!!! This book goes right for your heart. Kim also reveals the effects of our flawed Criminal Justice System and generational trauma.⁣
⁣
Personally, it was a painful reminder of how the media plays a harmful role. One day Jamal is a superstar athlete doing a TV interview where they are praising him and in the next moment that very media outlet results to sharing an unflattering photo of him in order to vilify him. I kept thinking how Black boys (children) are never extended grace, never allowed the “boys will be boys” label and the media’s instant reaction to seek negative information to communicate to the masses.⁣⁣ If you’re a teacher, your students will love this book! If you have a young person in your life, get this book in their hands. Heck, adults need to read this book.⁣
⁣

WOW!!! YA readers are going to love THIS IS MY AMERICA! This fictional murder mystery draws upon Just Mercy and real life stories of injustice and abuse. I was on the edge of my seat.

This book has so much of what we talk about with Civics students when they are researching their Civic in Action Projects - the judicial system, racial problems, problems with our prison system. There are references to many historical and ongoing issues that could jump start student research - privatization of the prison system, the KKK, the ACLU and their mobile justice app...

Do not miss reading the Author's note at the end.

It would be interesting to pair this with To Kill a Mockingbird if that is part of your curriculum.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Happy belated pub day! This book was published yesterday and if you haven’t added it to your TBR, you need to do so immediately!

This Is My America is a YA mystery/thriller that follows Tracy Beaumont. Seven years prior, Tracy’s father who is on death row for I crime he didn’t do. Every week she sends a letter to Innocence X, a legal organization that helps out wrongly convicted individuals and seeks for justice. Things get more complicated when Angela, one of Tracy’s classmates, is murdered. Jamal, Tracy’s older brother, is being accused of murdering her. In her quest to find justice for her father and brother, Tracy uncovers much more about her town than she expected.

Once you start this book, it is hard to put down. You keep wanting to know what is going to happen next, wanting to find out who is Angela’s real murderer, and whether Tracy’s father and brother will be able to come back home safely. Johnson touches upon so many issues that Black people experience living in the US. It touches on mass incarceration and how it affects families, how the justice system fails Black people and targets them, for-profit prisons, white supremacy. It also deals with how Black women must always act and look strong in moments of distress while white women can easily can let themselves break down and show emotions. There is so much to unpack in this book and I could go on how Johnson is able to pack all of this in to create such a powerful story.

What a story to be published during this time! This is My America is a story with a strong, black female lead, and how she seeks justice in the world for her father and her brother.

This was a riveting read, with love and justice at the heart. Being a white reader, this book made me stop and think many, many times, evaluating myself. This book confronted my views and set my mind on what equality and justice truly means in my thoughts and my actions. It will be a wonderful, stark read for those interested in racial equality, spitting out the truth, fighting it's own way for racial justice.

Black lives truly do matter, and this book lays so much emphasis on that that I hope will make an impact on our world. This was a thrilling read, making me wonder just how things were going to turn out, all the while praying for justice to shine through the cruel inequality. I truly think this read can make a difference.

What a phenomenal book! Kim Johnson's characters leap off the page -- they have so much personality, emotional depth, and authenticity. This is one of those novels where you forget that you're reading a book once you start getting into it -- it's that immersive. It tackles the topic of racial injustice in the United States with such precision and care, and it ultimately concludes with a hopeful and uplifting ending. Seriously -- what a great book! It left me speechless. Definitely adding this one to my all-time favorites shelf.

This is My America is such a fitting book for right now. It highlights the problems with our justice system. I appreciated so highly how it was written in a way that's approachable for all teenagers to read. It's hard to read. It makes you sad, and cringe, but that is very much the world we live in right now. Every high school needs a copy in their library. Parents should be reading this with their teens and discussing. We can do better. We can learn more. This helps open our eyes to what is wrong so we can make it right.

This is My America is the sad reality for African Americans. I was overjoyed to receive this ARC, but became saddened as I read it. Being that black & brown bodies are being murdered & filmed, yet still receive zero justice; it was hard to read this during this time.

Fortunately, I finally sat down to read this & couldn’t stop. I am happy that the ending wasn’t bitter. I also enjoyed the added romance.

WOW! 5🌟⠀
⠀
I finished this one last night and it was so many wonderful things. Honest, unflinching, thrilling, hopeful, heart wrenching. I was on the edge of my seat and on the verge of tears. ⠀
⠀
Kim Johnson has penned the next new must read! (The book that I wish didn’t have to exist if white people would check their privilege and racism and make sweeping changes in prison and police reform.) With a nod to Just Mercy (and reminiscent of All American Boys, and THUG), THIS IS MY AMERICA will expand your compassion and strengthen your resolve for change. ⠀
⠀
And make sure to read her Author’s Note at the end, as well. Very impressive and informative!

Thanks to Random House Children's for the advance copy of This Is My America by Kim Johnson in exchange for an honest review.

Tracy's father is on death row.

For seven years, Tracy has written to Innocence X for help to overturn his conviction--to no avail; now, as the clock ticks down on her father's life (less than 300 days as the book begins), her brother is charged with the murder of a local girl; now Tracy has to decide which innocent life needs her focus the most.

I almost didn't read this book, for two reasons, 1) I'm weary of the trauma such stories evoke, and 2) I've read so many books like it that, at this point, they mostly feel the same ...and end the same.

I get enough disappointment from the news without reading it in a book.

That said, I understand there is a crucial space for stories like this to be told--particularly in the case of those that remain ignorant to their prevalence--because their remains a frustratingly inexplicable ignorance concerning how poorly Black men and boys are treated within the "justice" system.

Stories like this bring further awareness, of their prevalence, to the audience that will most determine the changes needed in the future.

As such, Johnson does a beautiful job of incorporating social activism into the story of this family.

For one, after her father is convicted, Tracy takes it upon herself to learn as much as possible about her rights via the Know Your Rights campaign; she becomes so well-versed in what you can and cannot do, when forced to deal with law enforcement, that she starts holding workshops about it so others can too.

As a contributor to the school paper, she brings attention to issues of social justice, and highlights the need for further activism as well as the importance of having good allies.

Lastly, it's clear Innocence X is modeled after the Equal Justice Initiative--in Alabama--and that subtle nod offers a thread worth following long after this particular story ends.

To include such pointed organizations and campaigns added value to the story because it's a starting point for those who either unaware of their existence or who, if aware, are interested in learning more about what they do.

The story itself takes place in a small Texas town, where racism is still openly exists, even if it's not spoken of in glaring ways; and it's clear said racism played a role in not only the conviction of her father but in the case of her brother as well.

Each character is given a cross to bear, and we are witness to either the discovery they're not as free of prejudice as they'd like to be or>we see how easy it becomes for them to choose sides when the time comes.

There's a bit of a love triangle and, while it seems like a detour, the dynamic it presents becomes important to the story itself.

Quincy and Dean--Black and white, respectively--both like Tracy.

Dean is seemingly the obvious choice, until Tracy's brother is accused of murder and goes on the run, and her history with Quincy (her brother's best friend and the son) rekindles a relationship trauma played a role in disrupting.

Tracy obviously feels a pull towards both, but I'm still not sure Dean or Quincy were the vest choice one for her; they both seemed to have a hero complex and the decision as to whom to choose seemed to hinge less upon compatibility than longevity.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is my own.

This Is My America by Kim Johnson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tracy’s dad is on death row. Has been for 7 years. She knows her dad is innocent and just needs a better lawyer. For seven years she has been writing letters to Innocent X to try to get him represented.

Then the unimaginable happens and her brother is accused of murdering a white girl. Tracy is now trying her hardest to find out what happened and to prove her brother’s innocence while also continuing to fight for her dad.

Such a good book. Very reminiscent of Mercy Me. Also, very powerful. We never want to think that the justice system fails people, but it does happen. This book shows how it can happen for decades.

If you enjoy Angie Thomases books, then I think you will also enjoy this one. Totally recommend.

Tracy Beaumont has been writing to Innocence X for the past 7 years hoping that they will be able to help her father, who is on death row serving time for a crime he did not commit (although fictitious, Innocence X is inspired by the Equal Justice Initiative and the Innocence Project). On top of that, Tracey's brother, Jamal, has been accused of killing a white girl named Angela in the small racist town they live in. Tracey now has to find out what really happened the day Angela was killed in order to save her brother.

This Is My America is about what it's like being Black in America's broken justice system. It covers topics such as the death penalty, racism, racial injustice, corruption, and murder as well as family, sibling relationships, love, dating, and every-day life. I appreciate the balance between the two because as the author mentions, "the Black American experience is not a story limited to pain; it is one that is joyous, remarkable, filled with possibility."

I really liked how the author embedded a murder mystery within the book too. I know it's not for everyone as there is a lot going on at the same time, but I do think it adds a unique twist to the story. Also, the story was still able to flow perfectly with the addition of her father's storyline and a dash of romance. I don't usually like romance randomly added in, but it worked VERY well with this story. The romance along with the strong bond between brother and sister added a sense of every-day normal life to all the pain the characters are suffering throughout the book.

While the book does wrap up fairly quickly towards the end, I still really enjoyed it! It was a total page turner and I couldn't put it down! An important read that everyone should pick up especially fans of Dear Martin and Just Mercy. I really loved that Steve Jones (the lawyer in the book) was inspired by Bryan Stevenson! An amazing debut and one you won't want to miss.

Magnificent. An absolute page turner not to be missed. Strong plot and unforgettable characters that stick with you this is an absolute must read. Pick up this winner of a book from a debut author who hit it out of the ballpark on her first book. Happy reading!

This turned into the perfect contemporary mystery with important civil rights included, that I enjoyed thoroughly! I went into this book somewhat blind and I was instantly glued to the book once the plot began with the arrest of Jamal in the story and then turning into finding out the truth through Tracey, the main character.

There was also an intriguing love triangle throughout the entire book and that added a different layer to the story. This book is definitely a necessary read to better understand the injustice of Black arrests and white supremacy. This book was released during a huge Black civil rights movement that evokes the plot of this book perfectly. A must read!

I got an ARC of this book.

This book was mostly amazing. The things that I didn’t like are pretty much things I dislike about a lot of books. I also hate murder mystery sort of books, so I am probably not the target audience for this book at all since there was a large murder mystery plot.

The emotions were raw and intense. I adored how the characters thought and felt. Most of the characters made so much sense and felt so real. The few that didn’t felt like they were more caricatures, but because that is how the MC saw them, not from lack of writing ability on Johnson’s part. This distinction is huge. It did make the big twist (mentioned in the book description) seem more like it was out of nowhere for the characters involved than flow smoothly. It did not take away from the emotional punch or the reality that this book highlights.

Things I didn’t like: teen girl pretty much solves a murder mystery with no training and despite all odds. This is just a normal gripe. I am annoyed that characters have all this luck and skill that just doesn’t fit the character. Johnson had less of this, but it was still annoying how easy it was for a crime scene to be entered and how much that the MC got away with. The love plot. Give me a break. This book would have read just the same without the which boy will she choose love triangle. It is not resolved either so it felt more like it was thrown in and this book did not need more plot. There were incredibly serious plots already. The low plot felt like it dragged the book down.

Things I really loved: the information about rights and how to handle interactions with the police. This could have come across as super preachy or info dump, but it made perfect sense in this book that the characters would be talking about this and in the way that they did. The MC taught a class about it at the community center which means she would know these things and these things would come up in her life. Wonderful way to teach the reader and keep true to the characters and story. The letters that the MC write to get her dad an appeal attorney. They served multiple purposes. They helped mark time since she wrote them every week and added more of a sense of urgency to the count down for her father.

This book highlights huge issues that are too often ignored. I have seen small glimpses of things like this when I worked prosecution and again working in defense. I have been told to withhold sending of evidence in a murder case. I have been told it was “too hard” to get contact information and names of witnesses by the police who investigated a case when they provided no names for the only non-police witnesses in a case. I have dug up records that showed that someone was not even in the state when they were charged with arson which they could not have physically committed without being able to bike at over 50 MPH to be able to set all the fires in the time limit given by the one racist witness (the case went to trial despite these glaring issues and during the trial the one witness admitted he lied to the police to make them take him seriously. The young black man sat in jail for months over something he did not do and could not have done). Nothing in this book is out of the realm of possibility. I have seen things like this. This has been shown that it can happen over and over again. If you don’t believe me, check out the case of Lamonte McIntyre. This is what this book is about. A system that was supposedly made to protect people, but instead it is a system that is instead meant to punish people. This book is incredibly powerful.

This is the most powerful book I've read in a long time. A young woman whose focus is to free her father from prison. He is on death row, falsely imprisoned for a murder that he did not commit. And things only get more complicated from there. This is about "generational trauma." This is about institutional racism. This is about Black Americans who can't close a book and make this story go away, because they are living it. Every single day. Every minute. With no escape. This is a lesson in our society's willingness to look away when a whole people, Americans have been crushed for over 400 years. Every person should read this book.

this book was completely unputdownable. it was heartbreaking and hard to read, but really powerful and thought provoking. thoroughly enjoyed it. super intense and had a horrible book hangover when i was done. didn't love the romance, felt like it didn't really fit or wasn't really necessary.