"Sometimes it's hard being a girl, and it's hard being black. Being both is like carrying a double load, but you're not supposed to complain about it."
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The Black Kids follows Ashley Bennett, a seventeen year old Black girl, for whom life has always been perfect. Her parents worked hard to ensure a "good" life for their children, buy a house on the "right" side of LA, and send Ash and Jo to a "good" school. When four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating Rodney King half to death, things change overnight in the city. Ash is no longer just Ash, she's one of the Black kids now.
I'll start by saying this book is absolutely beautifully written. It's so full of feelings and emotions, and I nearly cried six or seven times when reading this! I was expecting something similar to The Hate U Give with this one, and totally understand why people make comparisons between the two, but there are definite differences. The Black Kids is written with more beauty and description, whereas THUG has more anger and purity of emotion. They're both brilliant books, and although the topic is similar, I think the actual content is very different.
This book is seeped in actual history, the constant references of events that actually happened make this feel incredibly real, and also very present, despite being set in 1992. It provides an interesting springboard for the reader to research more into actual things that happened in LA, and the outcomes of these, although the majority of the story is fictional. Although I am not Black, there are certain scenes which feel so real, and are very hard to read.
A key takeaway for me was just the importance of having the right friends and family around you. The book explores Ash's relationships with parents, siblings, friends, and other people she feels she should be friends with, and manages to really discuss these with consideration and empathy.
The pacing of the story was a little off. The book is split into three parts - before, during, and after, in reference to the LA riots after the officers are acquitted of wrongdoing in the Rodney King case. During was fast-paced and full of content, whereas Before felt a little like it was just warming up. And After felt like it was winding down, finishing everything off nicely, tying up the loose ends.
Despite that, this is a must read! If you liked THUG or Queenie, I think you'd like The Black Kids!
Content warnings: racism, use of the n-word, mentions of sexual activity, violence, police brutality
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