This Is My America by Kim Johnson is a 5⭐ read. Releasing on July 28th, 2020 with similar themes of The Hate You Give(review coming soon) and Dear Martin, This Is My America centers around a girl named Tracy who has a father on death row for a double murder he did not commit convicted on just his race and history is repeating itself for her brother Jamal. Track star, good student, and upstanding citizen of his town, Jamal is still depicted as a thug on media news outlets as hes on the run for a heinous crime he did not commit. Tracy goes deep in to proving her fathers innocence before his 250 days left are up and proving her brothers innocence uncovering underground white supremacy groups, police cover ups, and how sometimes the people you grew up with arent the people you thought they were. I loved this and all the little messages ingrained. I read this in 4 hours, I couldnt stop reading, I simply had to know what was going to happen next. Its been a while since a book has done that. I loved all the characters. If you loved Dear Martin definitely pick this one up.

I loved this book! First of all the cover is beautiful, which is what initially drew me to taking a look about what it was about. This is a YA Novel, about racism and social injustices. A story about a teenage girl who writes the Innocence X project for 7 years to try and get her dad exonerated of a crime he did not commit. When the police show up at her house to question her brother Jamal in a crime, the horror begins again. This was a couldn't put down book for me. One of the best books I've read this year. This is great for young adults and adults alike. I received an ARC for an honest review from NetGalley. Check this out when it hits the shelves on July 28th. You won't be disappointed!

One of my most anticipated releases and it did not disappoint!

For the past seven years Tracy Beaumont has written a letter to Innocence X, begging the non profit organization to look into her father's case. Her father has been wrongfully convicted of a double murder and has been sentenced to death. Tracy’s father now has less than a year before the prison kills him. One day the police show up looking for Jamal (Tracy’s older brother).

This was wonderful. At times I was truly shocked. This book made me so mad at times due to the racism. As a black girl, I can relate to this. It’s truly sad to see the flaws in the justice system and the corrupt police officers. It's very sad to see police who serve to protect but kill people of color for no reason or put them in jail and make evidence to make the person of color look guilty. They do it because they are scared of people of color and every time someone gets put in jail, they are getting paid for it.

I loved everything about this. True emotions were shown throughout. I loved every character in their own way and hated some characters for a good reason. All characters were developed and the pacing was great. This also took unexpected turns that I was not expecting. This was an easy 5 star for me, kept me engaged the whole time, and was not predictable at all.

Unfortunately people of color live in fear every time we are pulled over. Racism is one of the one things I wish didn't exist. I see no point in it. It does not prove anything but your true character. The world would definitely be a better place without it. I will definitely be pre ordering a copy to put on my shelves!

Thank you so much to Netgalley & Random house Children’s for an opportunity to read this.

Review posted on goodreads and Twitter.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3177361458

This is a probable/improbable tale of how the deck is stacked against Black Americans. Probable in that the America Tracy Beaumont lives in locked up her dad and is coming for her brother. Improbable in her relentless tenacity in fighting for their lives.

Despite the content being completely in line with my interests, I didn't love This Is My America as much as I expected to. Maybe Tracy was too perfect, as were her fellow saviors. Maybe I wasn't all that into the love triangle or the white person who finally saw the light. Idk. You read it and let me know what you think!

Wow. This one was a powerhouse of a teen novel. I loved the focus on the family of a wrongly accused man (and young man) and how unflinching this was about racism and the "justice" system. I also loved the connection to one of my favorite books, Just Mercy, and Bryan Stevenson. If I have any criticism, it's that justice rarely happens so quickly in the cases of the wrongly accused. But this is a really good book, IMO better than Dear Martin and right up there in the stratosphere of excellence near The Hate U Give.
Thanks so, so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book really touched me. It is so powerful and moving. As a teacher I think it should become required reading for schools.

The story hits on so many issues and done so with care. I will be buying a copy for my shelves and recommending it like crazy.

Such a powerful story!!!! A solid 5/5 rating! The character arc was so well written. I finished this story in one night. Within these ones they are powerful messages. This is a must read!!!!

Kim Johnson's, This is My America, is a timely book and I recommend it for people who enjoy reading books like Angie Thomas' The Hate You Give. What I found unique about this book is that looks not just at police brutality but also at the justice system and the consequences that it has on the family and community at large. It also introduces the rise of hate groups, which unfortunately we have seen on the rise. Our leading lady, is a fierce and loyal human who is willing to do anything to save her family. Some of her actions made me cringe but I think they are believable, especially for someone in her shoes. I actually struggled to read this book, not because it is a bad book but because I was devastated by the wrongs being done to innocent people. So I was reading I would have to take breaks because I knew the events were in a trajectory of "getting worse before they get better." It really does force you to evaluate how we as a society continue to fail certain communities. I highly recommend this book for all YAs, I did feel like there were certain characters that needed some more wrapping up and there was no mention on what happened to them or how their character developed.

Riveting, realistic portrayal of a black family's battle against injustice with the police, the court system and within their own community. This novel mirrors the US Court System's own tragic history, continuing to struggle with a plethora of injustices and wrongful convictions that need to be overturned AND, most importantly, stopped from happening in the first place.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Did you read Just Mercy? Read This Is My America.
Did you read Stamped? Read This Is My America
Did you read The Hate U Give? Read This Is My America.
Didn't read either? Read This Is My America

I'm a huge Just Mercy fan, so I could see where this fictional tale was headed from the beginning and it did not disappoint. Tracy's father is on death row for a murder he didn't commit and soon, Tracy's brother is on the run for the same reason. Tracy's letters to Innocent X seem to fall on deaf ears until finally, she is heard.

The relationships in this book are real and Tracys advocacy is to be admired. I'm sad the release date is in July - I'd love for my students to be reading this now. But like all good things, I can wait. This will be part our school library, my classroom library, and my personal library. Recommended for grades 6+

Kim Johnson’s ‘This Is My America’ is a searing look into the racial inequality and injustice that continues to permeate modern society.

For the past seven years, Tracy Beaumont has written a weekly letter to Innocence X, begging the organization to help exonerate her father, who was wrongly convicted of a double murder charge and sentenced to death. With less than a year left to save her father, the unthinkable happens: the police show up looking for her older brother, Jamal. Afraid that he’ll share the same fate as his father, Jamal is on the run, and Tracy is working against the clock to unearth what happened in order to save her brother. As the racist underpinnings of their small town are unearthed, she’ll realize there’s more at stake than she initially suspected.

In my opinion, this should be required reading in all schools. Not only does Johnson deftly address the very pertinent and timely issue of racial inequality in the criminal justice system, but she shows us the myriad ways that Black people have to navigate a world that is designed to uphold white supremacy. We see the microaggressions, the implicit biases, the overt acts of racism, all through the lens of a 17-year-old girl who is as strong as she is soft. We need more female protagonists, especially Black female protagonists. And we need more stories that humanize the struggle that Black people face daily. (We shouldn’t have to have it all spelled out for us, but history has shown us that we do.)

Johnson creates relatable characters who you feel a kinship with. The reader has a vested interest in how everything plays out. I found Tracy’s journey especially compelling, as she’s navigating some pretty heavy, adult stuff in congruence with a lot of teenage stuff. Her friendships with both Dean and Quincy are also interesting, complicated, and beautiful. I love the sense of family that she creates with the Beaumonts. They’re there for each other every step of the way, never wavering, never doubting.

To me, this is a must-read; an important read; a life-changing read.

I received an ARC of ‘This Is My America’ from NetGalley and Random House Children’s in exchange for my honest review.

Social injustice, diversity.

Teenage daughter finds justice for her dad who is in prison for killing two white people.

She writes letters to Mr. Jones for 7 years to get the justice her dad deserves, as she believes him to be innocent. She believes this because her family is witness to him being home at the time of the murders. Should be easy, right? Except that her family is black and justice doesn’t come easy for them in America.

Great read.

This is really a 4.5 instead of a 4 star read. I would first like to thank the publisher for sending me this eARC to review! There were so many shocking twists and turns in this book. Once the action began, which happened relatively quickly, the pacing of the book really picked up and made it difficult to put the book down. Tracy Beaumont is such an inspiring character. It’s so empowering to read a character around my age who looks like me, standing up against the injustice and racism in her life. I think what prevented me from giving this book 5 stars was the almost, kind of love triangle situation. I don’t think it really added anything to the story and it felt like a distraction from the heavier aspects of the book, rather than something that came about organically. Other than that small aspect, I really enjoyed this book and I think it’s a book that should be read and talked about a lot, similar to the discourse around Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give.

Strong voices and VERY strong premise/plot line. The writing style isn’t compelling and some characters are not carefully crafted, but it was an impactful read - couldn’t put it down once her brother was accused of murder.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing me with a free DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Tracy Beaumont, the main character of our story has one thing on her mind, her father’s pending date of execution. She has written hundreds of letters to Innocence X in hopes that they will take on her father’s case, to prove his innocence. Yet, every letter has gone unanswered and with her father’s execution less than a year away, she is getting desperate. But then the unthinkable happens and Tracy can’t stand by and allow her family to be struck by the same tragedy for the second time.

This book was superb, and is a must read. This book is categorized as a young adult novel however I would recommend this book to middle schoolers, adults and everyone in between. As her debut novel, Johnson sets herself apart by crafting a brilliant young adult mystery while also confronting the issues of racism in the justice system. All while never coming across heavy handed or offensive. As a woman of color raised in the south this book felt sadly true yet triumphantly real. Why triumphantly? She was able to formulate an amazing story by doing a great job of appropriately representing the many sides of racial relationships and development. She dives into the missing piece that many in society refuse to face which is our history with other racial groups can cause a bias and to understand that bias one must know the others history. And some of that history is uglier than we could’ve ever imagined. Therefore, we must communicate before we can understand each other.

UH!! I truly could go on and on about this book. It is just phenomenal. The easiest thing to say is this title will be published in July. Put it on your “TBR” list you won’t be sorry. This will be a great book for book clubs just from the topics of conversation that can be visited in this one novel. If this book doesn’t make a huge splash when it hits the shelves I will be utterly shocked. And those of you who do collection management or acquisitions for your library, this would be a great multi-cultural addition. Needless to say, I HIGHLY recommend this book.

This is a really well-written, compelling book that tackles issues of racism in the criminal justice system from the point of view of a relatable protagonist. I thought Johnson did an excellent job of tackling issues of racism in policing, convictions, and sentencing, as well as the growing--and increasingly visible--presence of white supremacist groups in the US. Johnson deftly linked historic manifestations of white supremacy (e.g. the Klan, lynchings) to contemporary manifestations in a way that worked well for the story, but also reflects the historical and sociological realities. From a teachers' standpoint, the only real issue I had with it was the compressed timeline of the death penalty appeal process, but the author's note at the end did an excellent job of discussing what aspects of the story were reflections of how things work, and what was done for literary reasons. In fact, the author's note itself would make for an excellent stand-alone teaching tool.

5 stars. Loved this one— Was indeed akin to Just Mercy, Dear Martin, and The Hate U Give. Will definitely be recommending to students and teachers.

This book follows the footsteps of The Hate U Give, Dear Martin, and Just Mercy to further explore how the criminal system unfairly and unjustly affects African American families. Our main character is a smart, driven young women who writes letter to Innocence X trying to convince them to take her father's case so he can be exonerated and released from death row serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Then her brother goes on the run when he becomes the main suspect for the killing of a young white woman he was seeing behind her boyfriend's back. I like how the story showed both ways to work within and against the criminal justice system. The family have a friend who became a cop that they trust much more than the rest of the police force. While she is struggling with finding her brother and proving her father's innocence she endures the suspicion of those she goes to school with and must decide who she can trust. The ending shows how racism isn't something this country has moved past but must continue to fight against. While I enjoyed most of this book I had problems with the force love triangle between the teens that wasn't fully resolved and I also felt too overwhelmed by the number of issues our characters struggled with (but maybe I am supposed to feel that way). Great addition to the voices lifting up these issues for teens to read and discuss.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This book was amazing. It brings race and justice system inequalities to the forefront while also having a compulsively readable story with characters you so desperately root for throughout. Tracy has been writing letters to Innocence X (a non-profit organization that conducts appeals on death row cases) for years. Her father has been on death row for 7 years and now, the countdown is on. Because in less than 280 days, he will be executed. Before that can happen though, Tracy needs them to take on her dad's case. Then he can be freed. He can come home. And life can go back to some sort of normal. But then tragedy strikes again. When one of Tracy's white classmates is found murdered, suspicion immediately turns to Tracy's brother Jamal, a promising track athlete and star student. Everyone seems to forget that about him though as public opinion rushes to condemn him. Jamal runs from home the night the police come, so Tracy has to find some way to prove his innocence while also finding a way to bring her father home.

Highly recommend. This is a first purchase type of book for all collections serving YA readers.

I loved this book. I thought Tracy's character is the embodiment of the BLM movement. She fought for justice and even when so many obstacles were in here way, she bulldozed them. I think this should be required reading for either late middle school or early high school students as it talks of race, social themes, culture, and the power of a single person.