Reviews

I bought this book almost three years ago but hadn’t had a chance to read it until now. I am glad I finally did because this was an incredible read. This is My America is a YA novel about the American criminal justice system and explores racial prejudices. The story follows a 17-year-old black girl, Tracy, whose father is on death row. Believing in his innocence, she is desperately seeking help from the nonprofit organization because he is running out of time. Then, her brother, Jamal, is accused of murdering Angela, a white girl. In trying to help both her father and brother, Tracy discovers her town’s racist history.

I loved this book from the beginning to the end. The last 100 pages or so were especially phenomenal. It was totally unputdownable, and I was on the edge of my seat. I think the plot was perfect. The only criticism I have is that I am not sure if the book cover and the title fit the story. I started reading the book without reading the blurb, and I had a totally different story in mind.

piuswong's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

herskullinabook's review

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5.0

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kasiak44's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

shirleytupperfreeman's review

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Coming in July, this YA novel about racial injustice is hard to put down! High school junior Tracy Beaumont has been writing weekly letters to Innocence X (a fictional version of the Equal Justice Initiative made famous by Just Mercy) to ask them to take on her father's case. Her dad has been serving 7 years on death row for a crime Tracy is sure he did not commit. At the same time, a fellow journalism classmate is found dead and Tracy's high-achieving brother is on the run. How was her brother involved with this girl? What story was she investigating for the high school paper? How can Tracy get help for her dad before his time runs out in a few months? As Tracy searches for answers to help her family and get to the truth, she discovers some horrific history in their small town. This is both a fun detective story and a sobering account of how low some people will go to preserve the (white) status quo.

maryehavens's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I thought this would be another book on racial discrimination but it was much more. Johnson really explored systemic and generational racism and its effects. There was also a murder mystery that really propelled the story forward and was quite shocking. I found the setting of East Texas to be interesting - Johnson doesn't seem to have any Texas ties that I could find but I thought she did a good job of capturing the negative history of that region.
Bahni Turpin was a fantastic narrator yet again. I will listen to anything she narrates.

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