Marie Arnold - I Rise

Marie Arnold - I Rise 

5⭐

Genre: YA, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Race 

Pages:  320

Format: Paperback ARC 

Publisher: HarperCollins 

Date Published: 2nd August 2022 (USA), 1st September 2022 (UK)

Huge thank you to Harper360YA, Harper360UK for the ARC to read and review. 

 

Book Blurb: 

A heartbreaking and powerful novel about racism and social justice as fourteen-year-old Ayo has to decide whether to take on her mother's activist role when her mom is shot by police. As she tries to find answers, Ayo looks to the wisdom of her ancestors and her Harlem community for guidance.

Ayo's mother founded the biggest civil rights movement to hit New York City in decades. It’s called ‘See Us’ and it tackles police brutality and racial profiling in Harlem. Ayo has spent her entire life being an activist and now, she wants out. She wants to get her first real kiss, have a boyfriend, and just be a normal teen.

When her mom is put into a coma after a riot breaks out between protesters and police, protestors want Ayo to become the face of See Us and fight for justice for her mother who can no longer fight for herself. While she deals with her grief and anger, Ayo must also discover if she has the strength to take over where her mother left off.

This impactful and unforgettable novel takes on the important issues of inequality, systemic racism, police violence, and social justice. 

My Review: 

Wow! What a book! I am so glad I had a chance to read the ARC of this book, thanks to Harper360YA. Such a powerful book was full of raw and real emotions and very strong characters. Arnold’s writing is just beautifully capturing the realities of Black communities in the USA. Loved this book so so much even though it left me speechless for days after I finished reading it!

The book follows a fourteen-year-old Ayo, the daughter of the founder of the ‘See Us’ movement, the biggest civil rights movement in Harlem, New York City. From a young age, Ayo’s mother taught her everything she needs to know to become the next leader of ‘See Us’, to carry the torch and follow in her mum’s footsteps. However, Ayo wants to live her teenage life carefreely. She wants to go on dates, have a boyfriend, go to parties, meet new people and make new friends. She doesn’t want to be stuck organising another ‘See Us’ movement or campaign. She is also adamant that she is not as strong as her mum, she can’t stand in front of thousands of people and talk about what is right or wrong. Her mum thinks differently, thus even the idea of Ayo quitting ‘See Us’ is unbearable for her mum. However, Ayo is adamant to quit and start her normal teenage life, but can she ever truly be a normal teenager? Especially after a horrific tragedy happens to her mum, will Ayo be able to ever become a normal teenager?

This book covers so many subjects and topics, from police brutality to racism, from struggles Black people face every day to activism, from microaggressions to race in US educational system. It also covers the coming of age and wanting to be a normal carefree teenager, as well as issues and struggles that come with it. This book is so educational, truthful, real and most importantly raw with feelings and emotions. I liked how different viewpoints on racism and microaggression are portrayed and talked about in this book, displaying why it is hard to sometimes have that unified opinion about racism and microaggression.

I loved how Arnold gave so much depth to each of the characters in this book. I loved Ayo’s character so much, as she is just a teenager with already so much weight on her shoulder. She tries to balance so much at once, as she has expectations from people to live up to but also at the same time, she has her own growing up to do and other issues to deal with in her everyday life, such as people being racist or aggressive or different towards her because she is a Black girl. The strength she found when a horrific tragedy happened to her mum and the challenges Ayo overcame to realise that she is just as strong as her mum were so emotional to read. Ayo’s character just felt so real and genuine that there were parts where I sobbed reading this book.

Overall: I honestly loved this book so much! It left me speechless for days and although it is aimed primarily at YA, I learned so much from this book, too. I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves because it is such an important book, exploring topics that each of us needs to educate ourselves about. It also displays that the power of unity and standing up together can make and will make a change. Honestly, a must-read book and I can’t wait to read more of Marie Arnold’s work. 

About the Author:

Marie Arnold was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti and came to America at the age of seven. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York alongside her extended family. Marie enjoys creating stories full of adventure, and wonder, which center on girls of colour. When she's not writing, she's adding to her insanely long Netflix queue and trying not to order pizza. She lives in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of The Year I Flew Away and I Rise.

https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/marie-arnold-2022553757860