Book: This is My America by Kim Johnson
Read From: 4th June - 6th June 2021
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: Tracy’s dad has been incarcerated for 7 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. Every week she writes letters to Innocence X, an organisation she believes can get her father the retrial he deserves. However, when Tracy’s brother Jamal is accused of a heinous crime, Tracy must face the deep rooted racism within her small town head-on in her fight for justice.
THIS IS EXACTLY HOW YOU WRITE A DEBUT YA NOVEL!! I absolutely adored this book, I was so engrossed the whole way through and the characters are so well written you can't help but root for them. I normally find that YA contemporaries can occasionally be hit or miss with regards to the writing style, where it can sometimes seem rather immature (although in these cases, I do recognise that as a 20 year old I am not necessarily the book's targeted readership). However, This Is My America is a book that can be appreciated by both young adults and adults alike. The writing is sophisticated for it's intended audience and is also simultaneously immersive and completely accessible which is so important considering that the novel centres around such significant and topical issues, exploring these on both a personal and systemic level.
Our main character Tracy has so many admirable qualities that make her an incredible protagonist, such as her resilience, determination, confidence and strength. I also really enjoyed reading about the different side characters - Quincy and Tasha in particular both had fascinating character arcs that not only deepened the layers to unpick within this novel, but also cleverly depicted the ‘snowball effect’ as a consequence of the justice system failing those close to them.
This is a book that completely blew me away, so I’m pretty much at a loss for words. Even the information at the end of the book in the authors note is just as powerful as the novel itself. Johnson has put so much effort into crafting this story, and you can tell that her in-depth knowledge and research on the topics explored in this book has enabled the execution of this story to be incredibly well done. It goes without saying that I would recommend this to anyone - this is a truly powerful story and should be required reading.