Welcome to Litsy!

What a fantastic read. Set in 1992 Los Angeles amid the Rodney King verdict, but sadly familiar to our modern times. Lyrically written, educational and relatable without being preachy. This should be part of high school reading curriculums.

Started this today - quite pleased with it already. The type of YA novel that should be read/taught in high school because the characters feel like believable teens while still having rich, lyrical writing.

Sorting through my shelves to give myself a prelim TBR for February featuring more Black authors for BHM. Leaning toward the tagged first given this Monday‘s planned events. 😓

Have you read any of these?

(And yes, our Christmas decorations are still up lol)

This has been on my kindle for a while, now I wished I read it sooner! Ashley snd her friends have a privileged life in LA. They attend a prestigious private school and are sheltered from the outside world.
Everything changes when 4 LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man to death. Suddenly, Ashley is seen as a ‘black kid‘. Protests break out and the city burns and Ashley‘s life begins to crumble.

#marchmadness Readathon
On target: finished book 3 today, going to start a new one tonight that‘s not on here so hoping to fit in 5 books for the month. 📚

Amazing cover. Really liked this teen book, but it hurts to see "historical" fiction that's set when I was a teen ?.

You guys, my parents are talking about moving away if this continues,” Courtney says. “They‘re really scared. They think Los Angeles is getting too dangerous.” “They‘re rich white people,” I blurt out. “Who exactly do they think is coming after them?” My friends all turn and look at me like I have five heads.

Normally reality fiction is not something I rave about; but this book change that for me! This is one of those books that I couldn‘t put down and finished in less than 24 hours. This novel is quite possibly my favourite reality young adult fiction I‘ve read in a very long time and I will definitely recommend this to some of my older students. Full review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4107183613

I saw this book at Barnes & Noble about a year ago and I had thought it would be too dark for me, so I didn‘t buy it. But now, I wish I had. Before I read this book I‘d never even heard of the Los Angeles riots of 1992. This book takes place during the riots, following Ashley, a Black girl, her family history, and her sister, Jo, who is a “revolutionary communist”. What a great book. 5🌟

I just thought that this was a great quote!

This was such an emotional rollercoaster. It takes place in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots. It was such a parallel to what we are still facing in out county and a bit saddening that it is still happening. There were parts in this book that were just so frustrating to me the truth of the story in parts that makes you frustrated at the world and everything going on. I highly recommend this book be prepared for a nonstop emotional rollercoaster.

My review was too long. So, I‘ll just say...WOW. This book is eye opening. I remember where I was during the Rodney King riots...and I was angry.

🖤

This is such an important read, with a sad, eerie current day relevance. It‘s one that I‘ll gladly buy for my daughter to read, knowing it will impact her in a number of ways. There isn‘t anyone I wouldn‘t recommend this book to, as it‘s a story that should make us think. And if we‘re thinking about all it encompasses, maybe we‘ll also think about how we can do differently.

My full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3550370685

“Rumors are stories we tell one another at other people‘s expense. This is what I have to keep reminding myself. It‘s a story; it‘s not me. I‘m not that story.”

“There‘s a riot going on, and it‘s consumed all of us for days, but you forget that in the middle of it there are people in other parts of the city just quietly living and dying, and other people who love them.”

“Sometimes giving somebody the words in your head makes you both feel naked.”

“Seems sometimes like growing older means the ground beneath you starts to shake and you keep trying to find the right structures to hide under, the right people to huddle with, the right roots.”

“This was before my grandma Opal died, before I realized the last pieces you carried of a person, no matter how small, could feel so big.”

I didn‘t really learn about the Rodney King Riots& the Tulsa Race Massacre until I was an adult. This book is POWERFUL,& it needs to be required reading for all. This is still a very relevant book today, ever more especially with the BLM movement and the push against the racial injustice that is continuing to be spilled across our nation. And the fact that systemic racism is still very real today, and was in the very creation of our nation.⬇️

I‘m having a really hard time connecting with the main character. It‘s interesting enough to keep my interest though. Wondering how this will sort out. #Blitsy #BlackLitsy #OwnVoices #ReadDiverseBooks

“Latasha was black. Latasha was a girl. Latasha was my age. She went into a liquor store to buy orange juice, and the Korean woman at the counter thought she was stealing. She wasn‘t. They got into a fight, and as Latasha tried to walk away, the woman at the counter shot her in the back of the head. Over orange juice. Her killer got probation, community service, and a five hundred dollar fine.”

“What do you do when the people you love no longer feel like home?”

“You can't tell people to pull up on bootstraps when half of them never had any boots to begin with, never even had the chance to get them.”

“Sometimes being different means hiding pieces of yourself away so other people's mean can't find them.

I wonder if growing up in a war zone disarms you so you can't even tell why your heart races, just the constant awareness that it does.

WOOOW I am starting this year off right, this was an incredible book!! I loved the writing style and how Christina portrayed all the different nuances in this story! I loved the characters, plot, and how honest and frank this book was. I need to note I am a younger white woman, so I can sympathize with the experiences in this book but I am not in a position to empathize or offer shared experience.

I was in my late 20s (and living in the Midwest) when the LA riots happened/Rodney King was beaten by LAPD officers. TBK covers a lot of important ground including those events, the Watts riots of 1965, sundown towns, and social/racial justice issues in general. [more in comment]

Best friends are the people you laugh with as the world around you shakes (38).

So this book is set in 1992, so the second book I read this year about the 1992 LA protests. As I was in high school about this time and also while a part of my city was making the news due to protests, it was oddly nostalgic and also funny and sweet. The book looks at being a priveleged high school senior in a time when you are realizing the limits of your privelege. The audio was great.

1. Tagged plus 4 others
2. Eight perfect murders
3. Cooler weather (like under 90 F)
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

So excited to start this one!! My dad actually lived in LA during the riots that this book is set in. I feel that this will be a very important book that shows that history does sadly repeat... #BLM

This book will stick with me like The Hate You Give. Showing police brutality and how it greatly affects people of color. You'll get glimpses of 90s nostalgia along with a story of repression that has been happening since long before and unfortunately many of these things are still an issue with the us. It's an important read but not in your face with the message, a message that needs heard. Amazing debut book!

I‘m planning a lot of great books for September, I need to step away from thrillers and get back to my middle grade and YA love a mix of fantasy and realistic fiction and always some graphic novels in the mix!

She‘s arrived! ❤️🥰 Thank you so much for sending @faelinwolf !! 🥰

A very timely book. Taking place during the LA riots Ashely is living the charmed life. Her parents have shielded her with a rich upbringing. That is until one April day when everything changes and police officers are acquitted from beating Rodney King to death. She starts to see everything crumble and starts to question a lot of things. I feel like this book should be required reading. Very important book!

Woot! Finally got the books that I won from BookConline! I was seeing on their FB group that other folks were getting theirs last week & was afraid I wouldn't get them after all, but they came yesterday! I'm really excited to read them both! 😀😀😀

This was a book that hit close to home for me. I was 8, living in southern CA, when the four officers of the LAPD were acquitted for the beating of Rodney King and LA erupted into protests and riots. I remember watching the news coverage and worrying for my family who lived in the LA area, thankfully everyone remained safe and out of the fray. Rodney King was my introduction the the racial unrest that exists in our country. Full review on my blog:

Wow! Great, hard-hitting Historical YA that takes place in 1992 during the LA riots. This novel speaks about Rodney King and Latasha Harkins, and is so relevant today. Interspersed with a high school narrative that rings true. #ARC #Edelweiss

Such a good YA read. Timely. Thought provoking. Discussion worthy. Set during the Rodney King riots so there‘s a nostalgia piece for me as well as various pop culture references pepper the story. Highly recommend.

A relevant & timely debut. Following Ashley during her senior year of high school, this book touches on themes of race, identity, & personal growth. Ashley is one of few black students in her wealthy private school, only a few blocks from the area of L.A. where the Rodney King riots are currently occuring throughout the story.⁣ Reed's book prompts important discussions on girlhood, blackness, & class that are still extremely prominent today.

This was such an important and beautifully written read. Though it ended on a hopeful note, the feeling was bittersweet as I look at the lines I was able to connect while reading and realize that there‘s still so much work to be done. As painful as this was at times, it‘s definitely a conversation that needs to be had – not just for others like Ashley exploring their blackness, but those privileged to walk through the world differently.

We all sew sequins on our stories to make them shine brighter.

Finishing this one up today

Scary and sad how relevant this is while taking place in 1992 ...

I know this was on my cover love, but this is still one of my favorite covers. And sometime this week someone here on litsy (i forgot who) gave it a thumbs up. cant wait to read it.

Out Aug 4
#CoverLove #YAEdition

Half way through this book and it is amazing! Definitely one you don‘t want to miss. #ownvoices #YA #teen #netgalley @SimonSchuster

Out of all the books I posted today, this one has my favorite cover.

Middle grade - Out September 1

#CoverLove
#BlackLivesMatter
#BlackAuthors
#BlackoutTuesday

This panel centered on Social Justice. The tagged book jumped out to me given the current political climate — it‘s out in September and is centered around the 92 Rodney King protests. #BookCon

More titles in the comments.