This Town Is on Fire

May 8, 2023
By highlighting issues of economic disparity, racism, and white privilege, Harris (When You Look Like Us) weaves a nuanced social narrative in which a Black teenager is forced to reckon with her white best friend’s racist actions. Black 17-year-old Naomi Henry has accepted the fact that her Windsor Woods hometown was the kind of place where “my neighbors were going to rock their Confederate flag T-shirts and hug their Black friends at the same damn time.” Despite her peers’ blatant racism, however, Windsor Woods has always been home, and her white best friend Kylie Brooks has always been like family. But when a video of Kylie calling the cops on two Black teens goes viral, tensions between Naomi’s peers begin to boil over. Finding herself caught in the middle, Naomi begins to examine how race plays a part in her relationships with her family, friends, and herself. Harris employs complex depictions of Naomi’s relationship with Kylie, whom her mother used to nanny, alongside Kylie’s parents’ expectation that Naomi will side with them as their community grows more divided, admirably showcasing Naomi’s struggle to balance her perceived loyalties amid tumultuous internal and external conflict. Ages 14–up. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Irene Goodman Literary.

June 1, 2023
A bomb goes off--literally--in the midst of a friendship that's falling apart over the complexities of race, and a small Southern town is ground zero. Awkward Black 17-year-old Naomi and White, borderline mean girl Kylie have long been inseparable. Naomi's mom nannied for Kylie and her twin brother, Connor (whom Naomi crushes on), and the kids grew up together. Now seniors, the girls are trying out to be flyers on the Windsor Woods High varsity cheerleading team. But it's Naomi's secret interest in dance that reveals how much she's struggling with who she is in ways that often oblivious Kylie, Connor, and the rest of their markedly racist Virginia town may not be equipped to support. A viral video of Kylie making wild accusations and threatening to call the police on two Black boys pushes Naomi into a spiral of self-reflection, too distracted to be what Kylie--dubbed "Parking Lot Becky"--needs. Their subsequent falling-out is both straightforward and complicated by how interwoven their families have been as well as by Naomi's struggle to navigate her Blackness. Joining the school's all-Black dance team and kissing Connor lead to more complications. These interpersonal tensions mirror townwide issues as Kylie's father's business becomes mired in a scandal over racism. The book attempts to take a critical approach to coming-of-age into Black adolescence, but ultimately, too many elements, both plot points and relationships, feel contrived and unconvincing for it to succeed. Explosive but lacking cohesion. (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Naomi Henry is a senior, a cheerleader, and best friend of twins Kylie and Connor Brooks. Naomi is Black, the twins are white, and Naomi's mother was the twins' nanny, so Naomi essentially grew up with them. Naomi is aware that some of the other Black students at their school think she's a sellout, but she doesn't let it interfere with her friendships. Then a video of Kylie calling the police on two young Black men goes viral, and Naomi feels torn. Gradually, she realigns with the Black students, becoming involved with activists at a nearby college. It's exhilarating to be involved in a cause, but tensions increase until they explode, literally. The novel begins with the aftermath of the explosion, when Naomi, among others, is arrested. Her sojourn at the police station cuts into Naomi's first-person present narrative of the events leading up to it. Her voice and her convictions are clear, but she learns that no matter how righteous the cause, there will always be some who use it to manipulate others or do things that benefit only themselves. Her growth from passivity to activism to realizing some hard truths about growing up is especially striking, amid other outstanding characterizations, and the novel ends on a hopeful note.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2023

Gr 9 Up-Naomi Henry is a popular cheerleader with a best friend who is practically her sister. She is also one of the few Black students in a primarily white school and town and deals with everything from microaggressions to blatant racism on a regular basis, even from her close friends. Naomi is trying to balance finding her own interests, like natural hair care and joining the dance team, and maintaining her existing relationships with friends who can't relate to those things. Then Naomi's white best friend, Kylie, goes viral in the worst way-for calling the police on two Black teen boys. Naomi is caught in the middle, her loyalty to Kylie and her family at war with her feelings about racial injustice and her own lived experience. And when it turns out that Kylie's actions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her family's racism, Naomi is spurred toward activism that has extreme and devastating consequences. The author's depictions of Naomi's complex relationships and mixed feelings are appropriately nuanced and realistic for a coming-of-age story, and the dual time lines present in the story add an interesting element of suspense. However, the culminating events of the book feel rushed and lack a detailed resolution. VERDICT An important addition to high school and teen collections; hand to readers who have read I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed, and Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne.-Alison Glass

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