One Of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon

 

Jasmyn and Kingston Williams are excited to move into their new home in the suburb of Liberty on the outskirts of LA. The affluent suburb is 100% black, including all employees. The couple sees this as a safe environment in which to raise their young son. Once settled Jasmyn begins to have apprehensions.

One Of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon is a powerful tale of racism in America. Told against a backdrop of widely publicised police shootings of black men, we meet Jasmyn Williams, an attorney who works in the public defender's office. Through Jasmyn we are given a glimpse of the fear someone who is black lives with every day in America. Not being black, or from the USA, it is difficult to truly comprehend the level of racism. As Jasmyn recounts some of the incidents she, or people she knows, has had to deal with I felt shocked, saddened and angry.

When the young family first move to Liberty, not everything feels quite right. I was getting a "Stepford Wives" vibe initially and this slightly dystopian feeling lingers throughout the novel. The centrepiece of the suburb is the Wellness Center and once we are offered a glimpse inside you begin to wonder if we are contending with a cult of some type, particularly as Jasmyn's husband becomes obsessed with the place.

Central to the story is the police shooting of a black family in a car elsewhere in LA. The father is killed and the young daughter ends up in intensive care. Jasmyn is appalled that the residents of Liberty are not as affected by the incident as she is. All of this adds to the unsettled feeling she has and increases the sense of unease the reader feels.

Jasmyn becomes more and more concerned as she digs deeper, especially as her husband seems to be falling even more under the thrall of the Wellness Center and its leaders. The conclusion is gripping, and one that you might guess at, but is still shocking when all is revealed. This is a book I would recommend everyone to read. Not only is it ideal for a book group as it will throw up a wide range of discussion topics, I also feel that the message it contains is one we need to be reminded of regularly.

One Of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon will be published on 13th June 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for a review copy.

Author Details

Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR and EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING. Nicola is also the author of the #1 NYT bestseller, INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING (June 1, 2021) and the NYT bestseller BLACKOUT (June 22, 2022, an anthology with Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, Tiffany D. Jackson and others and which has been optioned by the Obama’s production company). Nicola and her husband, author David Yoon, have also created the Joy Revolution imprint at Random House Children’s Books in the US. It’s their mission to publish romance/joyous books by authors of color featuring characters of color. And last but not least, Nicola and Dave have also created Yooniverse Media through which they have a first-look film/tv deal at Anonymous Content.