One of Our Kind is Nicola Yoon’s adult debut and it follows Jasmyn and her family as they move to the idyllic Black neighborhood. Once they arrive there, strange things start to happen. Pitched as Get Out meets The Stepford Wives, this book shows that even the most perfect places have their cracks.

I finished this book last night and I have been sitting on my thoughts. I think this book would have been a lot better if Jasmyn was a different kind of character. I don’t think she is particularly likeable and she has a weird purist perception of Black identity. I fully believe that a character can be unlikeable but still fun to read about but I don’t think Jasmyn was that.

I think this book has a lot of interesting conversations that are absolutely horrific. I wish there would have been more of a focus on those aspects. I can tell this book came from a very personal place for the author and there is a lot in this book that is very impactful.

I think in the end, this book is a three star was for me. There were some things that I really enjoyed and I think would lend themselves well to a book club discussion but then there were also things that felt counterproductive to the message of the book. I’m excited to read more reviews of this book to see how others, in particular reviewers of color, feel about this story.

While this is something I rarely do, I wish I had looked at the reviews prior to agreeing to read and consequentially review this book. I am definitely not the demographic (66 yo, white woman), I do strive to learn about others and their situations to show more compassion and understanding. The writing style was stilted. My impression was that the author wanted to erase her identity as a black woman. This makes me sad as all of us should embrace who we are regardless of our color, heritage, etc.

I really enjoyed this book. The author's unique storytelling style and engaging characters make it a compelling read from start to finish. As a longtime fan, I was thrilled to see how the plot unfolded, and the unexpected twists kept me hooked. The depth and development of the characters gave me a lot to think about, and I know my customers at the bookstore will appreciate the rich themes and the emotional resonance of the story. I can't wait to recommend this book to them—I believe it will quickly become a favorite on our shelves.

First and foremost I would just like to say that I am a white woman and I haven't had the experiences of a POC. One of Our Kind is written by one of my favorite authors and centers around Black injustice, this book was not written for me/about my experiences. Please consider looking up reviews by Black readers.

I did not like this book. I'm feeling very uncomfortable after reading this, and not because of what you think. One of Our Kind is marketed to be like Get Out which I'm sure everyone has watched or heard of. I understand why it's being marketed like that, but it shouldn't be. I honestly don't know what the point of this book was. The main character, Jasmyn, was so unbearably unlikeable. She is constantly stating how to uplift the Black community, but then literally throughout the entire book is judging Black people based off of their hair, skin, how they interact with one another, whether or not they're in social justice groups. Which boggled my mind and made me constantly second guess what the point of this book was.

This is the author's first adult novel and it just wasn't it in the writing aspect. The characters felt very flat and honestly were written like they were from a YA novel. It felt very surface level for all the characters.

The ending is honestly what makes me feel so icky and unsettled. I truly have no idea what Yoon was trying to go for with the ending... but it just doesn't make sense. It felt very Anti-Black and felt very "Black people are wrong for everything".

I've never felt more uncomfortable reading a book and I just don't have anything positive to say. Again, please read other reviews.

I don’t know what kind of message Nicola Yoon was trying to send with this book but that…was not it. It’s sad because I’ve loved all of the author’s YA books, but this adult debut is a major let down. Before reading this digital arc I read some of the reviews and I agree, I definitely would not recommend this book. Obviously the antagonists in the book are completely in the wrong, but having to read this book from the perspective of a Black woman who thought all Black people should have monolithic views on how to be Black in America was not enjoyable at all.

Liberty is touted as a beacon of Black excellence, a planned community for the best and brightest with all the finest amenities. Jasmyn thinks it looks bougie, but accedes to her husband King's desire to relocate there for their son Kamau's sake. Jasmyn struggles in Liberty: she can't make new friends, can't ignore the drumbeat of racism outside her glossy enclave, and can't understand why her husband spends so much time at the cultish spa. The message is as subtle as a sledgehammer and the protagonist gets pretty judgy, but Yoon does a good job ramping up the tension until the shocking finale. Thanks, Netgalley.

Thanks for the advanced read. This book was not what I expected. The story could have been much better if it was based in another view. It seemed like a lot of whining and basically bashing how it’s bad to be black. It was a struggle to read as I didn’t agree with a lot of it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Knopf for providing me an advance reader copy of this book. This was my first ARC & I was very excited to read another book by Nicola Yoon.

I thought I had a handle on what Yoon was trying to do here, but honestly, it felt like a swing and a miss to me. The book was pitched as 'The Stepford Wives' meets 'Get Out,' which sounds very interesting. But the horror vibe I was expecting wasn't there for most of it - not until the last 80/90% of the book. There was a bit of a lull period around 60% and I flet like I had to keep pushing to get through it.

The main character, a black woman who’s a social justice activist, initially comes off as loving and supportive towards her community. But as you dig deeper, her perspective seems laced with anti-blackness, which is disappointing and quite jarring. She was SO unlikeable.

On the plus side, I do think Yoon captured something real about the toll that relentless racism and police brutality can take on mental health, especially within the black community - That was well done. But I wish there had been more emphasis on the resilience, pride, and achievements that are also a huge part of black culture - I guess I was hoping for a bit more balance.

The title & the cover are fantastic.

UH wow what a roller coaster. So I did not like the main character at all - she is so completely negative and intense all the time. It feels like she is just unhappy with literally everything and hates being black. I’d say the first 70% of this book is slow and has a little bit of action but the last 30% is really where everything happens. I was no expected to like this because of how intense it was but I pushed through and ended up really understanding and liking this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought this was a good, yet disturbing read. It was like Stepford Wives meets Knives Out. I thought the author did a really great job with the story and didn't think it was too predictable. I will be definitely checking out more by Nicola Yoon in the future.





If you are interested in seeing more of my reviews and other content feel free to connect with me here <3:

https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules (links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, My blog and Substack newsletter, etc)

If you are a publisher or author who has questions about my reviews (as well as questions about my stats, reach or engagement), please free to email me. I am also open to requests for book reviews from authors or publishers. Thank you again for taking time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Props to an author who isn’t afraid to stir things up!

Looking at the current reviews, the author has already managed to get people feeling some kind of way – both positive and negative.

Now, I didn’t like Jasmyn. And Jasmyn? Well, I don’t think she would have liked me. But I sure did like reading her.

Our plot is fun, our bougie community is absolutely bizarre, and the truth behind everything was incredibly sad. Even if you haven’t lived Jasmyn’s life, you feel for her and wish the world were different.

I did think some things were a little too obvious – but it also may be that I went into this already knowing what this was being compared to. I kind of wish I’d gone in blind.

Entertaining and relevant!

• ARC via Publisher

Wow! 5/5 🌟 What an absolutely fantastic debut Adult novel! I started this book yesterday and was so immediately engrossed in it that I finished it in one sitting. I'm a big fan of Ira Levin, so the inspiration taken from the Stepford Wives was instantly clear and I dove in with no expectation of a happy ending. While the plot structure is undeniably similar, Yoon transforms the story plenty enough for it not to feel redundant or like a cut-and-dry remake. One of Our Kind is chilling, imaginative, important, and thoroughly thought-provoking. I'm so very excited to see what this author creates next!

Thanks again to Knopf, Pantheon, and Vintage (and of course, Nicola Yoon) for the ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Nicola Yoon has done it again. Read this book!

Nicola Yoon has a distinct voice and she definitely never disappoints. I do think I understand where she was trying to go with this book - but it really missed the mark. She used her voice from YA novels, vs. the adult novel that this felt like it was supposed to be. It was however, a lot scarier than we thought it would be.

I just feel dirty after reading this. Like I need a shower to wash the yuckiness off. I'm not 100% sure what the author was going for here, but on behalf of people of color, I was highly offended and insulted. I know I probably don't have the right to speak on these things as I can't really understand the journey of Black people. However, every stereotype is hit and the writing portrays the characters as victims of their circumstances, which I don't think is healthy for anyone, even if it is fiction. I'm just going to say I'm glad I read it, but I didn't enjoy it, and I think I'm going to need some mind bleach to get past it.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a very hard review for me to write, as I never want to come off as knowing or understanding what another race has had to or does endure.

It is very hard to review this book without giving away any spoilers so you may want to stop right here if you do not want to read any

************SPOILERS**********

That being said, I found the story to be very tragic. The author, herself, has stated that Jasmyn's fate is profoundly tragic. I don't believe the author is saying that it is better to be white.

I think she is speaking to her anger and despair at those who do believe or lean that way. It is very tragic when people stop standing up and just believe that giving in is not giving up.

Jasymn's character does not wish or want what ends up happening to her. In fact, she does fight against what she is seeing for the entire book.

Sometimes, I think trying to communicate exactly what something is making us feel can be hard, and it doesn't always come out in the best way.

In that, I do feel like the message fell flat. I really don't believe the author was trying to convey that Black = all tragedy. I think she was speaking of people that have experienced very tragic situations in their past and the tragic way they chose to deal with them.

I do think that the book will spark a lot of debate and conversations. I found it very thought-provoking. In that way, I think it was a very good read.

Very Stepford Wives in tone and theme but with measures of social justice and race-relations added in. The prose is lively and keeps the book moving along at a nice clip. I enjoyed this novel thoroughly and really think it will be a hit with readers of suspense fiction. B+

Having heard really good things about Yoon and her previous writing I was excited to see what her first adult novel would be like. Unfortunately I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped to. I felt like the idea was good but it felt like the author was more against "black people
" then showing what it's like for black people in America. I don't know if she's trying to write a satire but if she was it did not quite hit the mark.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

I’ve really enjoyed Nicola Yoon’s YA novels, so I was excited when I saw this ARC pop up. I struggled to get into it, and went looking at reviews to see if it would be worth the pay off of pushing through. What I discovered in the reviews was significant concerns about the way racial stereotypes of black men are perpetuated through the book and other similar issues. When it looks like the majority of reviews written by black readers say something to that effect, I take heed. I did not finish this book. Two stars instead of one though because I generally like Yoon’s writing and found the premise intriguing.