Tag: Kim Johnson

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“I learned the hard way that acceptance gained by pretzeling yourself into other people’s visions of you never lasts.”
― Kim Johnson, Invisible Son

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson is a riveting, destructive social justice thriller that refuses to stay silent. This book had me hooked and angry from the start, hoping that people would turn out differently that I thought, but knowing that change takes time. If you’re a fan of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas or Dear Justyce by Nic Stone, give Invisible Son a try.

Andre Jackson wants his identity back. After being wrongly accused of a crime, Andre is finally able to return home from juvie on an ankle monitor with a parole officer closely monitoring his every move. When Andre drives through his neighborhood, he realizes that even more has changed while he’s been gone. His neighborhood in Portland, Oregon is gentrifying, with people trying to push his grandparents out of their home and his dad out of his bookstore business. Andre’s excitement to start school again is quickly squashed when COVID-19 shuts down school and puts his family and friends in danger. With not much to do, Andre’s suspicions about what really happened surrounding his arrest begin to taint his relationships with friends, family, and coworkers.

Andre is hopeful that he can slip back into his relationships with the Whitaker kids, the family that live across the street from his grandparents. Before his arrest, Andre had made some headway with his crush, Sierra, but Sierra’s brother Eric has been missing since not long after Andre’s arrest. Sierra has her own suspicions about Eric’s disappearance, but her behavior is spiraling out of control, leading Andre and her family to concern. Andre has some questions for Eric, so he begins to search for him too. Thinking that the Whitaker parents know more than they’ve previously shared, Andre asks them questions. He soon realizes that Sierra and Eric’s adoptive parents are hiding something as the whole family works to keep up the idea that their racially diverse family is perfect with two biological white children, three adopted children of different races, and a dad running for political office. The more Andre searches for answers, the more he realizes that the truth could be devastating. Those who hold the power also hold many deep dark secrets, secrets they will do anything to keep Andre from discovering.

This title is also available in large print, Playaway Audiobook, and single book club collection.

“There’s no such thing as innocent until proven guilty—it’s just guilty until proven innocent. No one really wants the truth. They just want it to be done with.”
― Kim Johnson, Invisible Son

This is My America by Kim Johnson

- Stephanie Leave a comment

My latest read is a dive into racial injustices in the American justice system, albeit a fictionalized account. Kim Johnson has written a young adult novel examining mass incarceration and the affect it has on families. This is My America is a necessary read from the perspective of the families of those incarcerated.

Tracy Beaumont is seventeen. Her father is on death row. He only has 267 days left. He has been on death row for seven years and Tracy is angry. Every week, and sometimes every day, Tracy writes letters to Innocence X. She is hopeful that the organization will be able to help get her father off death row and discover who really committed the crime for which he was sent to prison. Tracy is growing increasingly desperate, willing to do whatever it takes to get Innocence X’s attention, so when her older brother Jamal and their whole family is invited for a television interview showcasing his athletic talents, Tracy has to decide if she will potentially ruin his opportunity by talking about her father’s plight.

Tracy doesn’t know what to do. Just when she thinks things can’t get worse, the unthinkable happens. Police swarm their house in the middle of the night and fighting off flashbacks to the night when her dad was arrested, Tracy and her mom discover that they are there to arrest her brother. In an instant, Jamal switches from a promising young track star with college plans to a thug accused of killing a white girl. Jamal is on the run. Tracy and her family find themselves living in a nightmare. Working hard to free her father and figuring out what actually happened the night of Jamal’s alleged crime, Tracy soon discovers who she can actually trust. As she starts investigating what happened between Jamal and the murdered woman, Angela, down at the Pike, Tracy uncovers a dark racist history in the town that may relate to what happened that night. By proving her brother’s innocence, Tracy may inadvertently destroy her relationships with the people in her life.

This book is also available in the following formats: