Blog Tour – Review & Giveaway: “This Is My America” by Kim Johnson
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THIS IS MY AMERICA by Kim Johnson Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: THIS IS MY AMERICA
Author: Kim Johnson
Pub. Date: July 28, 2020
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 416
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
Dear Martin meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting YA novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system.
Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time–her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a “thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town’s racist history that still haunt the present?
Fans of Nic Stone, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Jason Reynolds won’t want to miss this provocative and gripping debut.
Review
This is My America is novel that packs a powerful punch throughout its entire narrative. It discusses a wide range of topics including mass incarceration, the Black experience, death penalty, racism, police brutality, and many other issues. It’s an incredibly important story and a very timely one due to the current movements/discussions we’ve been having in our society. It was a difficult read, but a very important story that raises awareness and doesn’t shy away from the hard truth it presents in the plot.
This story follows Tracy who is a high school student striving to prove her dad’s innocence as he received the death penalty. She reaches out a project called “Innocence X” in hopes her dad’s case will be reopened as all of their other options have not worked. When her brother Jamal gets caught up in her classmates murder she knows he is also innocent. She soon discovers that something deeper is happening in her town and strives to find out the truth even if that means putting herself in danger to save her family.
I could identify to a lot of struggles that Tracy dealt with in her daily life. I did like how the author wove together this story and I was pulled into the narrative the entire time. There was a couple of twists and turns I did not see coming and like how she highlighted current events within the plot. I loved this book and it’s a novel that I think everyone should read. It’s message is so important! The text resonated with me and Johnson’s writing really packs a punch:
“They all say the same thing over and over again— it doesn’t matter when they were written. The laws might change, the systems might look different. All these books say what the problem is. Working ten times harder to get half. …….. And the world acts like there’s something wrong with us. They hate us so damn much.”
Overall, Johnson dives deep into this novel explores racial injustice and seeks to expand the now very public conversation that the Black Lives Matter movement made possible through activism. This is a novel everyone should read.
Final Verdict:
About The Author
KIM JOHNSON held leadership positions in social justice organizations as a teen and in college. She’s now a college administrator who maintains civic engagement throughout the community while also mentoring Black student activists and leaders. She is also the graduate advisor and member of an historically Black sorority. This Is My America is her debut novel and explores racial injustice against innocent Black men who are criminally sentenced and the families left behind to pick up the pieces. She holds degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Maryland, College Park.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads
Giveaway Details
3 winners will receive a finished copy of THIS IS MY AMERICA, US Only.
Rafflecopter Link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21117/
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
| 7/13/2020 | BookHounds YA | Excerpt |
| 7/14/2020 | She Just Loves Books | Review |
| 7/15/2020 | A Dream Within A Dream | Excerpt |
| 7/16/2020 | Thepagesinbetween | Review |
| 7/17/2020 | Here’s to Happy Endings | Review |
Week Two:
| 7/20/2020 | Not In Jersey | Review |
| 7/21/2020 | The Bookwyrm’s Den | Review |
| 7/22/2020 | Bri’s Book Nook | Review |
| 7/23/2020 | Confessions of a YA Reader | Review |
| 7/24/2020 | Emelie’s Books | Review |
Week Three:
| 7/27/2020 | Hurn Publications | Review |
| 7/28/2020 | Kait Plus Books | Excerpt |
| 7/29/2020 | Lifestyle of Me | Review |
| 7/30/2020 | Rajiv’s Reviews | Review |
| 7/31/2020 | Stuck in the Stacks | Review |
Week Four:
| 8/3/2020 | Popthebutterfly Reads | Review |
| 8/4/2020 | A Gingerly Review | Excerpt |
| 8/5/2020 | Two Chicks on Books | Excerpt |
| 8/6/2020 | Life of a Female Bibliophile | Review |
| 8/7/2020 | Momfluenster | Review |
