Reviews

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

nanners2007's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

keyari's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

3.75

Audiobook: 5✨(Narrated by: Cherise Boothe, Shari Peele, Kevin R. Free, Avery Glymph, Patricia R. Floyd, Brian Hutchinson, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Ezra Knight, Peter Jay Fernandez, Hubert Point-Du-Jour & Korey Jackson)

crafalsk264's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tariq Johnson, a 16 year old black man, is shot and killed by Jack Franklin, a white mail bystander, who attempted to intervene in what he thought was a robbery. According to Franklin and some witnesses, Tariq had a gun, but no gun was found and other witnesses maintain Tariq was unarmed. In the explosive aftermath, the community is divided and outside forces spur discord. Underhill is an urban neighborhood with a primarily African American population divided into two rival gang areas. Tariq lives in the area claimed by the 8-5 Kings with the rest of the area covered by the Stingers. Tariq was uncommitted to gang membership but being courted by the Kings. The leader of the Kings, Brick, has made it clear that if he joins, Tariq is assured of a prominent role as his #2.

This is a relatively short book (325 pages) with short  chapters (1-3 pages). Each chapter represents a different POV. Among the 18 different characters, it soon becomes apparent that Tariq was a different person to each one. This novel explores some of the complexities facing African American victims of racial violence. In 2023, 1,232 Black people were killed by law enforcement—the highest number since statistics have been kept (mid 1800s). Many of those killings were cases in which the suspect was or was not armed and differing opinions of witnesses contributed to the confusion. There have been many authors who have examined this in fiction and nonfiction work over the past few years. The real cases of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Emmett Till, Tamir Rice, and so many more Black boys provide guidance for such story lines. This is one is the best of a number of such books that I have read. The questions raised by this book are necessary and need to be discussed and examined in good faith. I will remember this book for some time and highly recommend to readers of contemporary realistic fiction, African American experience and families, social justice, racial issues and mystery.  Discretion advised regarding explicit language, sexual content, gun violence, death, toxic relationships, domestic violence, body shaming.

tatyanavogt's review against another edition

5.0

This is about the different ways people experiences/perceived the event of a black boy being shot by a white man and how your own past experiences and beliefs affect the way you experience new things. This book blew me away, it was powerful it was frustrating, it was well done.

I think the author did an amazing job making vastly different characters with realistic although sometimes frustrating beliefs/perspectives which really influenced the way things happened. I dunno, this book caught me off guard in the best of ways.

ms_weird's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bickie's review against another edition

4.0

Complex novel told from multiple viewpoints, showing that not everyone knows the whole story of "how it went down." Humanizes the shooting victim, 16-year-old Black boy Tariq, who had just purchased (not stolen) groceries for his mother. Shows nuance of gang membership and how difficult it can be to avoid it. Explores many difficult issues: is the Reverend excused for using Tariq's death for political gain if he is working toward a greater good? Should it matter whether Tariq was in a gang or not? Was the white guy, Brian Trellis, correct by trying to intervene in what he thought was a theft? If it had been a white kid hustling away from the store with the groceries, would Trellis have stopped him, too?
Best for high school; smarmy sexual tension with Reverend and young intern; cursing; relationship violence between a teen and her gang-member boyfriend

hayleybeale's review against another edition

4.0

A black teenager is shot by a white man. The white man is picked up by the police but is released, uncharged, a few hours later. In this timely and well-written YA novel, Kekla Magoon uses a multitude of voices to examine perceptions of the shooting itself, the aftermath and the affect on the community. See my full review here.

mischief_in_the_library's review against another edition

3.0

The number of perspectives in this book was quite confusing for about a third of the book, but once I figured out who all of the characters were, and how they connected, the changing narrators worked pretty well. That said, flipping through all of them so fast meant that I never felt we got much depth for any one character.

liftyourheavyeyelids's review against another edition

5.0

This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It is an easy read, but at the same time not at all. I think everyone should read this, regardless of their political views. One note I would make is that in most cases I would not recommend it for middle school kids or younger ( but that's ultimately up to parents to decide and if a kid came to my library asking for this book I would of course give it to them no matter their age).

katie_christie's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75