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!

This is My America is such a good book, and you need to add it to your summer TBR! I was excited to see that this book was about an innocence case in Texas, and I couldn't wait to check it out. My sister used to volunteer with The Innocence Project of Texas, and it's an organization that I admire.

This is My America grabbed my attention from the start, and it was very easy to get invested in the characters and story. This book takes you through so many emotions, and it's done so well.

I'm not going to go into it much more because you need to see where it goes on your own. Just know that you should pick it up. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

CW - wrongful conviction, racism, lynching (off-page), cross burning

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.

This is My America by Kim Johnson. This book is relevant and emotional. It will give you a perspective that is sorely needed in this world today. The characters each brought something to the story, they were well written and best of all (at least to me) this is a book that any person over the age of 10 can understand and enjoy. ⭐
⭐
This book is based around Tracy and her fight to get her father out of prison for a crime he did not commit. She does this by sending a letter once a week to Innocence X, in hopes that they will take her father's case. The story isn't just about her father, but about how that one event can change a family, and how black people, men especially are targeted by the police. The author explores every nuance and also offers at the end of the book, other books you can read that can help you understand more. This was much more than a fiction book, it was a history lesson, a now lesson and a book that screams to be read! 5⭐
⭐
⭐
⭐
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Children's and Kim Johnson for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you loved the Hate U Give or Tyler Johnson Was Here this book is for you.

Tracy Beaumont writes to Innocent X every week, asking them to look into her father's wrongfully convicted case. He was wrongfully convicted of murder 17 years ago and now only has 267 days left on death row. Then the unthinkable happens, after meeting with her brother girlfriend, who wants to write an expose with Tracey, she is found dead and Jamal is the only suspect. Jamal goes on the run and gets then Innocent X shows up to her father's case. With her father's case being reworked and Jamals case being worked in real time secrets that the town has buried come to light with the eerie similarities and the same connections.

I loved reading this book. I read it in one day and couldn't put it down. It showed the injustice of death rowand what can happen when someone is wrongfully accused and how hard it is to overturn or get a retrial. It shows how you can know people your whole life and not know there roots, where they came from, or what shaped them. I think everyone needs to read this book because it can be very eye opening and even if you disagree with it, it can place some seeds of doubt the next time you look at someone and judge them.

Title: This Is My America
Author: Kim Johnson
Genre: YA
Rating: 4 out of 5

Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time—her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a “thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town’s racist history that still haunt the present?

This was compelling, sad, and uplifting. Sad because I know stuff like this actually happens. Compelling because Tracy’s determination and her willingness to keep fighting made the whole story sing. Uplifting because it’s always good to see good triumph over evil.

I live in Texas—born and raised—and I remember probably 30 years ago, a KKK rally happening in our town (Vaguely, and only by hearsay, because I was maybe 10 at the time and my parents would never have allowed us anywhere near that nonsense.), so it wouldn’t surprise me to see this situation play out. This also saddens me deeply but looking at it from the perspective of Tracy and her family made it especially heartbreaking. Solid, evocative writing and a captivating storyline will keep the reader glued to the pages of This is My America.

Kim Johnson is a college administrator and a mentor. This is My America is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House in exchange for an honest review.)

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

While This is My America is being released amid our current movement in support of Black Lives Matter, it’s also a reminder of the long history of racism against Black people and how that continues to be perpetuated in the criminal justice system.

I was heartbroken and enraged at the very real story depicted of Tracy and her family, with her father in prison and on death row for a crime he did not commit, and her brother with a promising future put in jeopardy due to him being blamed for the death of a white classmate. And as Tracy worked, attempting to lobby with the criminal justice organization Innocence X for help, as well as investigate what really happened, I was awestruck by what she found out about the history of racism in town.

This book is phenomenal, an absolute must-read for everyone, and a great starting point or addition to your anti-racist reading list.

Intense. Devastating. Yet hopeful. Don’t plan on getting anything else done once you start this book because you are going to have to finish it as fast as you can. Everyone needs to read this book.

I am so glad I read this book. Johnson tells an important story with characters who feel real and relatable. While I wish the writing was a bit tighter and more tell vs. show, I think this book will be one that many teens will gravitate to, will relate to, and will be talking about. Diversity in YA is still not at its peak, but it's good to see writers like Johnson being given a voice in the genre. The only thing I wish I could see changed about this book would be the romance. I don't think it's necessary and it feels a little unfinished. I think the trend these days in YA is to always include a romance, but I don't think this story needed it.

I'll definitely be recommending this book to those looking for realistic, contemporary fiction about current events.

This book was really good. That sounds so cliche to say, but I enjoyed it. As a mom of two black children it's frightening how often black people are pegged as the criminals despite evidence showing otherwise. I would suggest this books to anyone interested in race relations, YA fiction, or youth who want to make a difference in the world (or adults...I'm 36 and enjoyed this!).

I could not put this down. I loved and learned so much. Tracy, a HS student living in Texas, navigates living while Black. Her dad is in jail, on death row for murder and Tracy knows he is innocent, as he was at home with his family. But it was easier for the jury to believe a white witness then the evidence. Then, Jamal, Tracy's brother, a scholar and student-athlete is suspected in the murder of a white classmate. The challenges just keep piling up and it is not a big leap to understand that these " challenges" are in fact everyday reality for Blacks in America. The story is fast-paced and well crafted. I loved Kim Johnson's book I'm Not Dying with You Tonight and this one is even better. So much is covered here but in a way that hopefully will open a lot of eyes.

This book follows a high school student who’s brother is on the run for a crime he didn’t commit but for which he is the prime and only suspect. Their father is also in jail on death row for murder, of which he is innocent.
-
This book did an amazing job looking at the justice system in our country and the times in which it can be flawed. I know this will be a book my students will really enjoy in the fall, and I’m excited to order a physical copy for them to check out.
-
If you like reading about social justice or enjoyed Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, I would highly recommend checking this one out!

This Is My America by Kim Johnson left me speechless.

Comparisons to The Hate U Give are well-deserved, as Johnson takes on the criminal justice system and its devastating effects on Black families and communities with honesty and authenticity. Johnson also takes cues from Just Mercy as Tracy, the main character, fights for a final appeal as her father’s execution day approaches by petitioning Innocence X, a legal defense organization modeled after Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative.

This Is My America is a compelling narrative, timely because of recent events--the death of George Floyd and global BLM protests--and yet timeless because this struggle is not new. The story is fictional, but the injustices experienced by Black people daily are very real. Yet what makes this book so beautiful is that Johnson shines a light not just on Black pain but also on Black joy and Black resilience, Black families, and Black love.

I loved the author’s note at the end of the book, which draws parallels between the story and the author’s own lived experiences, and also provides a short yet comprehensive history of America’s systemic racism. She also provides resources for further reading, many of which are on my shelf, and I plan on adding the few that were not. This book should be put into the hands of teens and adults alike. It's that important--a must read book about contemporary social justice issues.

This YA debut is simply phenomenal, and I can’t wait to see what other stories Johnson will write. I will read every single one.