Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds.
Jason Reynolds and his best bud, Jason Griffin had a mind-meld. And they decided to tackle it, in one fell swoop, in about ten sentences, and 300 pages of art, this piece, this contemplation-manifesto-fierce-vulnerable-gorgeous-terrifying-WhatIsWrongWithHumans-hope-filled-hopeful-searing-Eye-Poppingly-Illustrated-tender-heartbreaking-how-The-HECK-did-They-Come-UP-with-This project about oxygen. And all of the symbolism attached to that word, especially NOW.
And so for anyone who didn’t really know what it means to not be able to breathe, REALLY breathe, for generations, now you know. And those who already do, you’ll be nodding yep yep, that is exactly how it is.
Review:
I’m not 100 percent sure what I was expecting from this book, but WOW, this wasn’t what I thought it would be….This is better. It’s a quick read. I read the whole thing in one sitting. You kind of have to. It’s literally only several sentences long. And it’s kind of like one art installation in a museum. And you don’t want to skip any part of it. You want to experience the whole installation, the way it’s mean to be experienced, beginning to end….If that makes sense.
It’s about one black family experiencing the last 2 years, surviving Covid and racial injustices. And each page, each word makes you feel something. It’s not about making you re-live 2020-2021. Though, it might make you remember some things…It’s about this moment for one kid, one family. And it’s about the power of breathing, the power of oxygen.
I didn’t understand all of the art. Some of it made me scratch my head. Some of it is impossible not to understand. Some of it is just words on a notebook page. And some of it belongs in a museum. Maybe all of it. But together, this book not only captures the feeling of this moment in time, but it opens a window in a such a unique, beautiful way.
In all honesty, I have not allowed myself to think too hard about the last couple of years. I have lost people I care about. And I have found myself in this past month reading 2 books that have almost forced some self-reflection out of me (this one and Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry) and I know I will at some point have to reflect and unpack some more. I guess what I’m saying is if a book can pull this out of me, it’s a strong one. This book has the ability to make people reflect, feel, and communicate. I hope lots of people read it, talk about it, and reflect on it. I give it a 10/10.
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