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A review by bahareads
One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I have been a fan of Yoon but this book was a disappointment.
One of Our Kind lacked depth. Yoon wrote this book for White readers. If you want to be hit over the head with racial discourse the book could be for you. The book gets a star simply because it was a finished product. I would have put this book down but saw it through to the end because my friend had vented to me about it. I thought 'surely not Yoon!' I was wrong.
One of Our Kind follows the Williams, a Black family, moving into the wealthy Black neighbourhood, Liberty. The wife, Jasmyn, is pro-Black. PRO-BLACK. By the end of the book, the rhetoric is almost Black-Israelite Black. She's so pro-black, she is anti-Black. Jasmyn is searching for like-minded people inside the neighbourhood and finds a small community (which was slowly chipped away at in the book). She has a bad feeling about Liberty which cannot be shaken though her husband, King LOVES it.
Jasmyn and King argue back and forth about their neighbours and living in the neighbourhood. They also argue about how Black or not-Black they are being. Jasmyn believes Black people should only have natural hair, be of darker skin colour, talk about racism and racial trauma constantly, and give unhealthy portions of time to giving back to the community. If you do not fall into (and all) of these categories you're a coon! Hair is the thing Jasmyn comments on the most when she meets someone. She can tell if you're One of Her Kind or not by it. Nicola Yoon has Jasmyn focus on the hardest aspects of the Black experience, it is pounded time and time again into the reader. There is no Black joy or love in this book. It is probably shocking to the White reader, but tiring for a Black one.
Yoon brings in details about the Williams family once for the plot and never mentions them again. I honestly forgot Jasmyn was pregnant because it was NEVER mentioned again. Side characters are not fleshed out. They are only there for the plot. King - THE FREAKIN HUSBAND - is not developed as a character at all.
A Black woman writing this type of novel is sad. What makes it worse is all the people who read this book before publication and let it happen. No one stopped to think critically about the message, the narration, or the characterization. Let me say, White people it is okay to say "Hey this doesn't seem right to me," even when talking about Black characters. At least it will bring some discussion, and one or both conversation parties can be enlightened.
Do not just read my review about it. Other Black women say the same thing.
One of Our Kind lacked depth. Yoon wrote this book for White readers. If you want to be hit over the head with racial discourse the book could be for you. The book gets a star simply because it was a finished product. I would have put this book down but saw it through to the end because my friend had vented to me about it. I thought 'surely not Yoon!' I was wrong.
One of Our Kind follows the Williams, a Black family, moving into the wealthy Black neighbourhood, Liberty. The wife, Jasmyn, is pro-Black. PRO-BLACK. By the end of the book, the rhetoric is almost Black-Israelite Black. She's so pro-black, she is anti-Black. Jasmyn is searching for like-minded people inside the neighbourhood and finds a small community (which was slowly chipped away at in the book). She has a bad feeling about Liberty which cannot be shaken though her husband, King LOVES it.
Jasmyn and King argue back and forth about their neighbours and living in the neighbourhood. They also argue about how Black or not-Black they are being. Jasmyn believes Black people should only have natural hair, be of darker skin colour, talk about racism and racial trauma constantly, and give unhealthy portions of time to giving back to the community. If you do not fall into (and all) of these categories you're a coon! Hair is the thing Jasmyn comments on the most when she meets someone. She can tell if you're One of Her Kind or not by it. Nicola Yoon has Jasmyn focus on the hardest aspects of the Black experience, it is pounded time and time again into the reader. There is no Black joy or love in this book. It is probably shocking to the White reader, but tiring for a Black one.
Yoon brings in details about the Williams family once for the plot and never mentions them again. I honestly forgot Jasmyn was pregnant because it was NEVER mentioned again. Side characters are not fleshed out. They are only there for the plot. King - THE FREAKIN HUSBAND - is not developed as a character at all.
A Black woman writing this type of novel is sad. What makes it worse is all the people who read this book before publication and let it happen. No one stopped to think critically about the message, the narration, or the characterization. Let me say, White people it is okay to say "Hey this doesn't seem right to me," even when talking about Black characters. At least it will bring some discussion, and one or both conversation parties can be enlightened.
Do not just read my review about it. Other Black women say the same thing.