Starred review from June 12, 2023
Via perceptive prose and immersive chapters that alternate between 1968 and 1995, Allen highlights two Black teens’ parallel struggles for racial justice, 27 years apart, in this powerful debut. In 1995 Massachusetts, high school senior Gibran faces severe consequences and possible expulsion after disrupting a racist talent show performance at majority-white Lakeside Academy. Though his family pleas with him to “just graduate” and “finish your last year” without incident, Gibran can’t help but chafe against the injustice he witnesses daily. Meanwhile, in the days following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, Columbia student Kevin fights to halt the construction of a university expansion that would further gentrify the surrounding Harlem community. Other culturally relevant happenings, including Vietnam War protests, add narrative heft as Kevin’s attempts to organize initiatives cause a rift between him and his parents. The two boys’ efforts to balance their equity pursuits with interpersonal concerns, such as the importance of caring for oneself amid taxing mental challenges, are expertly rendered. Through Gibran and Kevin’s individual exploits of equality and accountability, fully fleshed-out characters, and skillfully cultivated narrative tension, Allen creates a layered debut that is timely and resonant. Ages 12–up. Agent: Cindy Uh, Creative Artists Agency.
Starred review from June 15, 2023
Chronicles the experiences of two Black students balancing family and personal expectations while engaging in the precarious work of organizing. In 1995, Massachusetts high school senior Gibran's ambivalent about attending a mostly White prep school. When a talent show performance by White students uses Black rapper aesthetics for cheap laughs, Gibran, quite literally, pulls the plug on it. This small act results in a strong warning: one more "disruption" before he's expelled. His sympathetic mother reminds him to focus on his Howard University scholarship: "The question is, do you deserve the punishment you're going to get for giving them what they deserve?" But when Gibran and others who wish to honor the upcoming Million Man March clash with administrators, his choices place him in jeopardy. In 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Columbia University student Kevin is organizing with the Society of Afro-American Students. They oppose Columbia's expansion into Harlem, which would displace residents, and, as the Vietnam War rages, they want the university to renounce ties to war research. After reading sensationalized headlines, Kevin's parents try to dissuade him from further participation in the lengthy, increasingly hostile student-led campus occupation. Allen constructs a vivid narrative that balances both timelines seamlessly and pointedly highlights often overlooked history. The crisp, succinct prose and fully realized characters make this a shining example of how principled research in lock step with exceptional writing creates an unforgettable reading experience. An electric debut: a must-read for all. (acronyms and organizations, author's note) (Fiction. 12-18)
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
September 1, 2023
Alternating first-person accounts tell the intrinsically linked stories of Gibran in 1995 and his uncle Kevin in 1968. When Gibran, one of the few Black students in his Massachusetts prep school, and his friends ask to participate in a Day of Absence in support of the Million Man March, they are denied due to the event's "divisive" nature. Gibran leads the charge to respond in a manner that will get the entire school's attention -- and may jeopardize his future. In the parallel story line, Kevin is a Black activist attending Columbia University, keenly aware of the university's unjust practices and their effect on neighboring Harlem. Columbia's response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. adds to a growing list of concerns, and plans for a protest escalate into a (real-life) student takeover. Allen has created two fully developed, sympathetic characters who must decide what liberation truly means. Kevin and Gibran share a commitment to activism, sometimes to the detriment of their closest relationships. Both voices are clear in their convictions; flashbacks within Kevin's chapters and "What I don't say" sections within Gibran's deepen understanding. Allen's debut novel admirably explores various facets of African American activism and protest, including debates about what is deemed too radical for the movement, and discussion of the role of Black women. Lyrics "by" Gibran appear occasionally, along with some black-and-white illustrations by Karen Eutemey (unseen); a list of acronyms and organizations and an author's note are appended. Eboni Njoku
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
Starred review from September 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* This intense debut novel connects two young Black men struggling for acceptance and equality. In 1995, Gibran is a senior at Lakeside Academy, a mostly white suburban prep school outside Boston. When his request to attend the Million Man March is refused, he organizes a group to post a letter around campus sharing the realities of attending Lakeside as a Black student. In alternate chapters set in 1968, Gibran's uncle, Kevin, tries to find his place in the resistance as a Columbia University undergraduate. Tutoring young Harlem students and fighting for local tenants' rights is not enough, so after Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated, Kevin joins the campus protests. Dawn is the woman who connects these men to their familial expectations: As Gibran's mother, she urges him to keep his head down and graduate. As Kevin's sister, their estrangement haunts his thoughts while he joins the Hamilton Hall sit-in and waits for their demands to be met or, as happens, for the police to respond with shocking violence. Allen expertly integrates historical civil rights figures and events into a character-driven narrative that communicates how it feels to be transformed by a powerful speech, to face violence, and to stand tall every day in the face of injustice and racism. She ends with a moment of triumphant unity in a struggle that continues.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
September 22, 2023
Gr 8 Up-A compelling portrait of the intersectionality of race, class, and intergenerational change that features two Black young adults, Kevin and Gibran, living through two different time periods. Because of their grandparents' and parents' upward mobility, both young men are students at prestigious, predominantly white schools. Kevin, a student at Columbia University, tells his story of growing up in a predominantly white suburb in the 1950s and early 1960s as well as his experience at the Black student-led sit-in at Columbia in April 1968. Gibran, Kevin's nephew, is a student at the prestigious White Oaks preparatory school and is driven to organize a group to attend the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Readers will be intrigued by a family mystery that Gibran works to unravel and the nuanced relationship between uncle and nephew. Told in short chapters that alternate perspectives, the novel is written in one- to two-page fast-moving episodes, especially important in a book that clocks in at 400+ pages. Gibran's rap lyrics and drawings bring a welcome change of pace. This debut novel is meticulously researched and based on real events and people. Allen includes a list of acronyms and institutions as well as a note that shares her personal connection to these stories and how she made them emotionally realistic. VERDICT An important addition to the canon of YA historical fiction and especially recommended for readers who are invested in the history of racism and the struggle for freedom.-Jamie Winchell
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2024
With lyrics by Kahil AkNahlej Allen. Alternating first-person accounts tell the intrinsically linked stories of Gibran in 1995 and his uncle Kevin in 1968. When Gibran, one of the few Black students in his Massachusetts prep school, and his friends ask to participate in a Day of Absence in support of the Million Man March, they are denied due to the event's "divisive" nature. Gibran leads the charge to respond in a manner that will get the entire school's attention -- and may jeopardize his future. In the parallel story line, Kevin is a Black activist attending Columbia University, keenly aware of the university's unjust practices and their effect on neighboring Harlem. Columbia's response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. adds to a growing list of concerns, and plans for a protest escalate into a (real-life) student takeover. Allen has created two fully developed, sympathetic characters who must decide what liberation truly means. Kevin and Gibran share a commitment to activism, to the sometime detriment of their closest relationships. Both voices are clear in their convictions; flashbacks within Kevin's chapters and "What I don't say" sections within Gibran's deepen understanding. Allen's debut novel admirably explores various facets of African American activism and protest, including debates about what is deemed too radical for the movement, and discussion of the role of Black women. Lyrics "by" Gibran appear occasionally, along with some black-and-white illustrations by Salaam Muhammad (unseen); a list of acronyms and organizations and an author's note are appended.
(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)