*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Well worth the read and an important book for all young adults

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy audiobook. I've read the White Fragility book by Robin DeAngelo, but I have to say I think I might like this book even better.

Let me start off with saying that I am 29 years old, so not necessarily in the category of Young Adult, but I really enjoyed the authors' adaptation in that they used the most intuitive metaphors, stories, and analogies to describe the very complex world of systemic racism, white privilege, binary thinking, bias, and white fragility. I absolutely loved how they broke down each of these topics in such easy-to-understand ways.

I really wish I had a book like this to read when I was in high school or early college. It would have been a useful guide to help understand cultures and perspectives outside of my own sheltered one. I highly recommend this adapted book not just for young adults, but for anyone looking to be challenged in their worldview and learn new ways of talking about race. Kudos to Toni and Ali for making this such a concise summary packed with insight and new perspectives. A must-read!

P.S. I really enjoyed the voices in the audiobook but it was a little too slow of a pace for me so I sped it up to 1.75 speed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

A new adaptation, directed toward young adults, of the best-seller White Fragility, explains systemic racism and how to recognize it in themselves and in the world. This book is educational, resourceful, and a beautiful work of art that everyone should read. This will make you think deeply, especially with the different activities. I do think this would be more beneficial as a hard copy vs. an audiobook. Every high schooler should be required to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advance audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Friends asked me to join discussion groups about the original White Fragility book. We had marched and protested together, for women’s rights and BLM. As a brownish, ethnically ambiguous woman, I declined—but I felt bad about doing so.

I was delighted to see this title and to receive an ARC of it. I learned a lot from it, about myself and others, and why certain things had bothered me, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

I learned more about what white supremacy means, both historically and in this day and age—and that it’s not just about extremists, but something far more insidious. I learned what performative activism is, and why some friends are reluctant to participate in vigils and marches.

I know this book is intended for young adults, but I still learned a lot!

I loved that the audiobook was narrated by the women who adapted it, who very clearly gave their own perspectives. As I’ve said, I really learned a lot from it! But I hope schools buy the hard copy and have kids do all of the activities in groups. And I hope every middle and high school library in the country gets at least one copy of this book—especially at the schools that have at least one parent complaining about it.

I think this book was crafted and adapted well from its adult version. I can see this being very useful and informative as a family read. I especially enjoyed the activities and reflection questions included. Well done!

I read the original White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and thought this was an excellent adaptation for young adults by Toni Graves Williamson and Ali Michael. The book is easy to understand and covers hard topics. I also appreciated that it included information and stories while also focusing on ACTION and accountability. The audiobook is well done (with some minor issues in the last chapter, but it did not affect my rating) and I liked the book included reference materials to BIPOC authors' research.

4.5 rounded up

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, the authors and NetGalley for providing an audio copy to review!

I'd like to thank Dreamscape Media on Netgalley for providing me with an audio arc.

I think this was a fantastic book. The narration was done very well and was narrated by the authors. I think this is a great starting point for teens to learn more about having discussions on race. I love the discussions that took place in the book. It encourages readers to think more about their positions and to challenge the ideas that they have. As well as the initial feelings that they get when they have they have their stances challenged. The discussions are very nuanced. I really appreciated the amount of care that went into a creating this book. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest I have not read the adult version of White Fragility but after listening to this adaptation for Young Adults I will be adding this to my list.

I would consider this an excellent resource for any high school or above student. There are topics I’m not entirely comfortable with my middle schooler reading (example discussing Chanel Miller’s rape). However, there are *several* chapters I would be comfortable with, and even had them listen to. There are prompts for journal entries and multiple references to illustrations that I would suggest getting the actual hard copy.

Some things you can expect in this book:
· A dialogue that models anti-racist discussions
· Definitions of key terms (I found the race section incredible eye-opening)
· Personal stories from the multiracial team of authors
· Discussion prompts to encourage readers to journal their own thoughts

Overall a great and easy (as easy as this subject matter can be) to digest book about racism. I haven't read the original so I cannot compare this to that. I feel this stands well on its own. There were some technical issues with the last chapter, which hopefully was just the player and will not translate to the final material.

This book took the original work of White Fragility by Dr. Robin DiAngelo and broke it down for a different audience. The authors, Toni Graves Williamson and Ali Michael, did a great job of taking a topic that is likely a new idea for most of their audience and explaining it in an approachable and personable manner.

The book relies less on information dumping and more on providing nuggets for thought and examples of real life experiences (mostly those of the authors) to foster a space for open discussion.

There are multiple journal prompts for continued self-growth as well as small group prompts for growth amongst peers.

While it is clear that this book was adapted with high school students in mind, it is important to note that this adaptation also makes the topic (and the content of the original book) more accessible and approachable to more people than just young adults. This is even more true with the addition of an audiobook medium. I recommend this book to anyone who may feel overwhelmed by the original book or similar books on the topic.

On the technical side of things, there were multiple times throughout the audiobook that the two narrators were talking over one another briefly when their narrations shifted.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Toni Graves Williamson and Ali Michael, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

The last chapter was cut off whenever Toni was talking so I'm not sure on anything she said. The book itself definitely shead light on white fragility. I feel like it didn't go in depth too much so it's a good starting point to help open a young adults eyes to racism.

This book is insightful and a great conversation starter. It brings in historical theory as to how systematic racism started in order to keep the dominant race of the time in their positions. She addresses dialogue that should be had within all racial groups about how our government still fosters racial inequality. I has never really thought about marking my race on a form and what implications it might have. I just assumed it was needed information and I shouldn’t think about it. Now I see how it can be impactful on our society and the history behind it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC audiobook.


Description from NetGalley:
When white people have the opportunity to think and talk about race and racism, they more often than not don’t know how.
In this adaptation of Dr. Robin DiAngelo’s bestselling book White Fragility, anti-racist educators Toni Graves Williamson and Ali Michael explain the concept of systemic racism to young adults and how to recognize it in themselves and the world around them. Along the way, Williamson and Michael provide tools for taking action to challenge systems of inequity and racism as they move into adulthood.

Throughout the book, listeners will find the following:

· A dialogue between the adaptors that models anti-racist discussions
· Definitions of key terms
· Personal stories from this multiracial team
· Discussion prompts to encourage listeners to journal their reactions and feelings
· Illustrations to help concepts of white fragility and systemic racism come alive
· Portraits of scholars and activists, including Carol Anderson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Ijeoma Oluo, whose work is amplified throughout Dr. DiAngelo’s theory of white fragility.

I am going to start by saying that I have not read the adult version of this book; however, after listening to this I think I need to read the adult version (since I am an adult myself). It gave me a lot to think about, both about myself and those around me. The information was presented well and thoughtfully for its target audience. There were some nuanced concepts that were structured and distilled very well. Each chapter had good thought exercises/homework for the reader to do to fully explore each chapter’s topic.

Overall: 5/5

This adaptation gave me so much to think about. I recognized so much of myself and others in different parts, and the discussion and activity prompts were very helpful. This is an accessible book for teens to learn how to be better members of society.

The audiobook did have some problems. There were parts toward the end where the audio of one narrator overlapped with the audio of the other narrator.

Thank you Net Galley for the audiobook!
I haven't personally read the original book that this was adapted from. However, I think this is a great option for young adults who want to address their white privilege and white fragility. Personally hi think this book did not split hairs and really targeted the important things that teenagers especially should be thinking about. I really liked that they adapted this for Young I told as it is more applicable now for teenagers who want to start making changes to themselves.

I am so glad this book was adapted for Young Adults! I greatly enjoyed the original and felt that this book was just as good! These are very necessary conversations that we need to be having as a society and I am so impressed by the authors ability to distill these conversations into approachable, understandable ways. I thought the narration of the audiobook was superbly done and I greatly appreciated the chance to engage with this material. 5/5 stars! Excellent book.

"If race isn’t real, why can’t we stop talking about it?”
“Even through race is a made up concept, racism is a real phenomenon that has a significant impact on people’s lives. We cannot change it if we do not talk about it.”

“In this adaptation of Dr. Robin DiAngelo’s best-selling book White Fragility, anti-racist educators Toni Graves Williamson and Ali Michael explain the concept of systemic racism to young adult readers and how to recognize it in themselves and the world around them. Along the way, Williamson and Michael provide tools for taking action to challenge systems of inequity and racism as they move into adulthood.”

I read once that, upon feeling defensive, the brain triggers similar instincts to those present during physical danger.

Fight. Flight. Freeze.

When we’re made aware of systems and behaviours that go against our current thinking, beliefs, and perceptions of ourselves, it is 100% natural to NOT TAKE IT WELL.

We self-justify.
We change the subject.
We don’t know what to say.

Knowing this is a powerful tool support changing your behaviour and thought patterns, and moving towards anti-racism.

This book, with its history, helpful homework assignments, and practical examples, is our roadmap.

9.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this excellent ARC.

This is an excellent YA adaptation of the original text. It would be a wonderful addition to any high school classroom. One could use excerpts throughout a course or have students study the text in it’s entirety for a non-fiction book club. The information is presented in a clear and engaging way and the narration on the audio is excellent.

Rating this book in two separate ways.

The first is on content - am carrying over my 3 star review for the “adult” version of this book because this book seems entry-level for white liberals.

Second - this book did a really good job of distilling sometimes nuanced concepts into a more manageable narrative, which I hope makes the book easier to read for a younger audience.

Absolutely buying a copy for my 11 year old! He's biracial in a mostly white school. I foresee him struggling to explain things to himself, his friends or his teachers and hope this gives him needed tools.

While the focus of this book is growing in being an anti-racist, and it hits that mark, it contains solid advice that is applicable along many avenues of life.

The advice I most appreciated is accepting feedback and when defensive, sitting with that and considering why it's making me defensive. Considering my own hold ups and exploring them in a thoughtful way can help be continue to grow, especially when I hit a wall that I struggle to see or overcome.

While I'm wanting this book to equip my son with skills/tools I know it can do the same for me as I continue to learn.