The kind of book that college curriculums will never require but absolutely should. This book goes into the very ugly and very real racism at so-called "elite" college campuses, facing everything from racial slurs to accusations of affirmative action. Hopefully as teens read this book, they'll be able to recognize the problems that Savannah faces in their own communities and take action.

I really liked this - it was a strong debut novel! It very much gives Dear White People vibes and also feels like a very realistic portrayal of being a BIPOC student at a majority-white university and of institutionalized racism within academia.

I really wanted to like this book but I kept getting distracted by irrelevant details to the point that the distraction becomes relevant. For example, freshmen usually aren't allowed to move on campus two weeks before classes start. I admire the author's integration of technology into the narration.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I did not finish this book. I am not sure if it is my end-of-semester burnout or what, but the theme of this novel just did not make me want to read it. The "not-so" microaggressions just in the first twenty or so pages were enough for me to decide that this isn't what I want. I"m sure it has a place in somebody's library - just not mine.

Thank you to Netgalley and Underlined for an advanced readers copy of this novel.

Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman is the debut novel of Kristen R. Lee. Savannah is a freshman at the Ivy League Woodale College. She comes from a lower class background and has worked hard to get into the school with a full scholarship. She dreams about doing well and making connections that will set her up for the rest of the her life. She starts the year with ideas of great promise but quickly finds out that succeeding at college isn't about hard work but who you know and what you can get away with if you are white.

This novel deals with race, white privilege, class, academia, family and friends. It's a lot to deal with and I was rooting for Savannah to succeed. I wish we had some more interactions with Mrs. Flowers and some of the characterizations were a little broad, but I enjoyed reading this.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this title. Required Reading For The Disenfranchised Freshman is an example of when an author has a good idea but just does not execute the concept well. I found the plot to be extremely predictable and its only saving grace was the main character, Savannah. Savannah was mature, kind, and determined to right the wrongs happening on her college campus. I will not be recommending this title to other readers.

Yes! Yes! Yes! This story is about race, but also class and the intersectionality of the two. It is a coming of age story that a minoritized person who spends a lot of time in white spaces will feel seen, but it’s also a realistic view of those experiences for white people to see the internal thoughts and struggles of constantly having to deal with your Blackness as something to be proud of while also othering you.

This novel is full of language and experiences that were so familiar to me. Savannah’s story is so many of our stories.

I was so engrossed in Savannah's freshman year of college at predominantly white institution I read it in one sitting. I can't believe this is a debut title! The pacing was perfect, the conflicts left me just as forlorn and confused as the main character, the side characters weren't half-filled out tropes, and best of all the romance subplot was kept light and to the side so we could really see the core arc. What a critical book for young Black and Brown students graduating and going into the academic environment which is basically always a cesspool of extra harm and stress for anyone not white. Thank you Kristen Lee for crafting this powerful and realistic story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for an early edition to read and offer my personal opinion.

Kristen R. Lee's REQUIRED READING FOR THE DISENFRANCHISED FRESHMEN is a much-needed story. She really drills into the detail of being on scholarship for school and the nuances that separate the students with money from those who don't. As a first generation college student, I wish I had Lee's book before my freshmen year. I'll definitely be recommending this to my students of all races. White students will also benefit from the depiction of micro-aggressions and how those can and do affect people.

In terms of the writing, I did struggle a bit with Lee's relentless bad encounter after bad encounter after bad encounter. Because there was little variety in the plot and characters, it felt like the overall story lacked complexity. It also made many of the characters feel one dimensional. This is why my rating is low.

I look forward to following Lee's career, reading what she does next, and seeing her storytelling and writing skills grow.

This title was hard to put down — compulsively readable, I *had* to know what was going happen next to black freshman Savanna Howard as she battled microaggressions and straight-up racism at a fictional white university. She spends most of the book trying to reconcile the person her family needs her be against what she believes is right. Recommended read for high school juniors and seniors of color still trying to figure out where they should take their talents as they seek to shape their futures, as the pros and cons of PWIs (primarily white institutions) and HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) are explored from the perspective of someone in the midst of deciding for themselves.

I unfortunately did not have time to read this but I am excited for my library to purchase it, and I look forward to reading the hardcover. I absolutely love the cover!

Required Reading...was a great debut novel and will definitely be going onto my classroom shelves. Its exploration of the ways power, privilege, and race impact Black students are historically white institutions is much needed right now, and Savannah is a great role model for any young person caught between living up to family expectations and putting themselves at risk to fight for what's right.

4.5 stars

This is a fantastic debut that has me already excited to see what Lee will do next!

Savanna is about to start college when readers meet her, and this will be a huge change, not only for all of the typical high school to college reasons, but also because there will be a move to campus, entirely different socioeconomic surroundings, and SO many racist maniacs. Though Savanna is anticipating several of these changes, she's caught off guard by how severe the examples of racism on campus are from the jump, and readers will either see their own similarly horrifying experiences in Savanna's, or they will learn quickly why this subject matter is essential basically from birth (I'm talking to you, book banners).

What Savanna experiences is harrowing, and the senses of harm, trauma, and injustice are amplified in the face of constant get-out-of-jail-free cards given to folks holding all kinds of privilege. The entitlement coursing through the veins of these aforementioned creeps is palpable. My face aches from so much nostril flaring.

A lot of people and checkpoints fail Savanna and her allies, and in this way, Lee aptly captures not just racism on the part of individuals but the institutional and structural racism inherent in countless aspects of higher education. And Lee does this WELL. This component never comes off as didactic: just factual. And that's the problem.

Savanna's life is so understandably consumed by the horrible events she faces that at times, even though readers are with her the whole novel, I wanted to know her better. That minor note aside, this is going straight to my list of student recs. It's a great novel in general, but it also fills a niche that has some glaring vacancies right now. Already looking forward to Lee's future efforts -