Jas Hammonds' We Deserve Monuments was a heartfelt queer coming-of-age novel centered around family history.

It follows Avery a DC senior in high school set on attending Georgetown, who is forced to move to a small town in Alabama to spend time with her dying grandmother. Avery knows little about her grandmother and her family's history in the town, but no one in her family is willing to answer her questions.

This book is, at its core, a coming of age tale. It truly revolves around Avery's reckoning with who she is, where she came from, and what future she wants for herself. While this book may be marketed as a mystery, the 'mystery' is really just another facet of Avery's coming of age. It honestly takes a back seat to all of the other things that Avery is experiencing. So, be warned, if you go into this book looking for a mystery, it won't deliver in the way that you a thinking.

The character development in this book was amazing. I was so moved by the progression of Avery's relationship with Mama Letty, her ailing grandmother. I also enjoyed the WLW relationship. I did want more from Avery's parents as characters, particularly her dad.

The writing of this book was hit or miss--though, mostly hit. A lot of it was very beautiful, but some of it--particularly in emotional moments--felt very cliche, almost formulaic, like the author was following an equation for how to write an emotional scene.

At the end of the day, this book felt incredibly real. The characters' lives were messy and imperfect. They didn't wrap up in a neat little bow.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a queer coming of age tale or to people that are drawn in by family histories and buried stories from the past. I truly enjoyed this book, and it was a quick read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for the advance Kindle copy of this 11.29.22 release. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this coming of age story. With her estranged grandmother Mama Letty dying, high school senior Avery and her family move from DC to a small Georgia town to be with her. Avery has only met her grandmother once before, during a Christmas visit that ended in a fight between her mom and Mama Letty, and an early flight home. Now, starting over her senior year, Avery struggles to connect with her grumpy grandmother, while also finding fast friends - and maybe more - with two girls, one of which is from the family her grandmother says killed her grandfather. I loved the characters, cried a little, and was sad to see this one end. Hand to readers in grades 9+.

Avery is uprooted from her life in DC when her family moves to rural Georgia to take care of her dying grandmother. She soon makes friends with Simone and Jade, but her family seems a mess. Her mom and grandma never seem to get along. There is also more mystery around town - her grandfather years ago was murdered and justice was never served, and her friend Jade's mother was murdered 12ish years ago, also never solved. In addition to all that, she finds romance with Simone, who is not out to anyone. As Avery tries to juggle with all of this, she has to learn more about herself and her family to help everyone get peace.

I liked this book a lot. The description says part mystery, part romance, butttt I don't really think that's a good categorization, especially with mystery. There is a little romance, but it's not the central plot point. Also for the mystery, the description makes it sound like they are actively searching for clues, but that is not the case at all. It really is a back plot. I felt like the book wrapped up a little too quickly. I didn't even realize the epilogue was the epilogue at first because it doesn't say that or like 10 years later. It's also pretty short for all the info it tries to jam in. Overall, if you are looking for a good coming of age story with social justice themes, this is a good book to read!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First, thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This was so gorgeously written and the story is so compelling. I've been in a major reading slump lately, and this one kept me engaged and wanting to read all night long. Avery, her mom, and Mama Letty are a trio of trauma and tragedy, all feeling the sadness and pain of varied life cirumstances. I loved how the stories intersected in unpredicatable, and honestly some predictable, ways. The side characters of Simone and Jade lent to the drama, but also the stability of Avery's life.

A side thing I really liked was this was the first YA book I've read to mention Covid and its affect on teenagers and their lives. It felt real and honest and like a good tribute to a group of kids who lost so much during these years.

Overall, I really loved this book and I'm so excited to get it for my school library.

We Deserve Monuments was beautiful. A must read for YA fans, especially if you like Queer/BIPOC teen romances, real talk about racism and history, small town secrets and mystery, and families working through generational trauma. It hit so many perfect notes, and the writing was so captivating. The author captured what felt like real, genuine teens living complicated lives. I couldn't put it down, and will be thinking about this one for a long time. I will be recommending to students, coworkers, friends, and anyone who works with teens.

Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy/e-arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of this YA novel.

This was an excellent YA read if you are looking for a slow and character-driven story following a teenager navigating all the difficulties of family relationships. This book unpacks a lot of what many of us discover with the intricacies of family dynamics and various personalities. It's an excellent portrayal of how generations before us don't always get things right and need time to heal old wounds.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's almost hard to believe that this is a debut work. Jas Hammonds (they/she) speaks with a voice reminiscent of years of experience. I suspect they're going to be a shining star of contemporary YA literature.

We Deserve Monuments follows Avery, a high schooler on the brink of college. Her life is uprooted when her parents decide to move to her mother's small, southern hometown to spend time with her dying grandmother. Almost immediately, Avery's biracial and queer identities become points of contention with the small-minded people around her.

Hammonds handles heavy topics with tact and grace. We Deserve Monuments features outright racism, microaggressions, and generational trauma and how all of this bleeds into the collective conscious of young minds. That being said, it isn't heavy-handed. Every line just felt important.

My only complaint is the ending. It felt very abrupt based on the rest of the novel. I think something more drawn out would have suited me better as a reader.

I can't wait to read what else Jas Hammonds is going to write.

This is another book that had a cover that I was absolutely enamored with. Someone posted about pre-ordering on Twitter and I had to co-sign how great this book is. I tweeted “I read #WeDeserveMonuments and I promise you it’s worth your time. Connecting with a dying grandparent, learning your history, self-discovery, love in the form of friendship & romance and 2 Black girls finding it in both forms! Yea, go preorder!” I still stand by this statement and add that there maybe a twist or two that you don’t see coming in this book along with varying timelines, points of view outside of the MCs & family tea. And because this needs repeating, adolescent Black Love, which I love to see in all forms. So definitely pre-order!

There was so much to love in this book about a biracial, queer teen girl who spends her last year in high school in a small southern town because her grandmother is dying. The friendships, the romance, and most of the family secrets are all well done. The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars is the slight mystery element to the book that ends up being revealed as the book wraps up. I felt that it was unnecessary to the overall book and changed the emotional tone of the ending.

When Avery and her parents move from DC to Bardell, Georgia, to care for her dying grandmother, all she wants to do is get to know her grandma, not make waves, and get back to DC to finish her senior year. But she quickly makes two new friends — one of whom she might be crushing on — and finds Bardell has a lot to teach her about her family and herself.

Avery feels like a real teen, and she's dealing with some heavy but equally realistic issues: loss, complicated family dynamics, marginalization because of her queer and biracial identities, and more. Jas Hammonds packs so much into Avery's story, and I was totally drawn in from the beginning. What a gorgeous book!

This was a great story. I love the relationship that Avery builds with her grandmother. However the ending was pretty abrupt and didn't even make sense.

Great book with complex characters. The wrap up of the book felt rushed and there were a few things left kind of fuzzy.

I loved this book so much, the characters, the writing, and the story is just magnificent !! I'm amazed and i'm glad i read this title.

WE DESERVE MONUMENTS is a triumph from debut author Jas Hammonds. Our protagonist Avery tries so hard to get to know her terminally ill grandmother (who is a TOUGH nut to crack!) while dealing with microaggressions and outright racism in her grandmother's southern town. MONUMENTS is a story full of complex family relationships that made my heart sing when they shared truths and sink when they disagreed. I'm a sucker for a grandmother/mother/daughter story, and this book is built on these three strong women.

Speaking of strong women, this is a friendship story that has burrowed its way into my heart. Everyone should have friends as loyal, fun, and supportive as Simone and Jade.

I am buying copies of this book for everyone I know - it's a beauty.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan for giving me an ARC of this book.

Author Jas Hammond hit it out of the park with this stunning debut novel. Her beautiful and heartbreaking writing is completely immersive - I felt like I was in the book right along with Avery.

Avery is on the fast track to Georgetown. She is a 17 year old who lives and breathes school and doing everything she can to get into college. It helps that they live in DC and that her mom is a highly respected professor. But everything changes when they find out that her grandmother, Mama Letty, has terminal cancer and doesn’t have much time left. Avery’s parents quickly pack them up and move to the middle-of-nowhere, Georgia where she is supposed to make nice with a grumpy grandmother who she doesn’t know, attend a brand new school her senior year, and completely move on from her previous life. Can she get to know her grandmother before it’s too late? How can she when all her mom and grandma do is fight? But when family secrets come to light, she must lean on her family and her new friends to find answers.

Make sure to check trigger warnings as this book centers heavily around family trauma, racism and violence against POC in the Deep South, as well as bigotry against LGBTQIA people.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of We Deserve Monuments.

This is an incredible debut novel about a girl named Avery who moves to her mother's hometown to spend time with her grandmother, Mama Letty before she dies. Avery soon discovers that this small town has a nefarious past. There are unsolved murders and plenty of family secrets. This book has something for everyone - LGBTQ+ characters, a multiracial cast, and lots of drama.,

#WeDeserveMonuments #NetGalley

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the digital ARC of 'We Deserve Monuments' by Jas Hammonds.

This book is one that I can see my students picking up and enjoying. The story follows Avery being uprooted from her comfortable life to live with her dying grandmother, and uncovering secrets that her family has kept buried. During her quest to uncover the truth Avery starts to see more of the ingrained racism and violence in the South, and discovers that this violence was the driving factor behind the lies and secrecy.

One of my minor frustrations with the novel though was the time/scene jumps. At times it made the events of the story a little harder to follow, and I felt like I wasn't left with a solid answer for the hidden truth. Overall, an engaging and thought-provoking book.

4/5

Stellar. We Deserve Monuments immediately leapt to the top of my best of 2022 list. With emotions as compelling as the plotlines, this book snatches hold and never lets go. Do yourself a favor and wait to pick it up until you've got an afternoon or an evening to devote solely to Avery's story, because once you start, you'll resent every single thing you have to do instead of reading.

We Deserve Monuments has to be one of my favorite contemporary reads of the year. I was so excited for the biracial representation and I was not disappointed. But even more so, We Deserve Monuments is about secrets. It's about family mystery. I kept wondering exactly how much we are entitled to know about our family members. I've been thinking about it for a while and all of those percolated thoughts come to a head in We Deserve Monuments. Not only about past trauma and loss, but also the good memories, the kernels of joy or discovery.

And Hammond's debut examines family secrets. The experiences we omit and traumas we pass on. Emotional from start to finish, We Deserve Monuments is also about friendship which blooms despite the odds and reconciling death. At its core, this debut is also about who gets monuments built of them. All these people who deserve recognition at the very least, and celebration. It's a theme and constant question that makes the title and the essence of this book shine.

This book was very heavy but reminded me of Angie Thomas books in that sense. I find these types of books hard to review because of that but I did really enjoy it.

I really liked Avery’s growth throughout. The book was about her finding herself and I loved seeing her and Mama Letty grow together.