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Goodman, Juliana

The Black Girls Left Standing

336 pp. | Feiwel | June, 2022 | Trade ISBN 978-1-250-79281-5 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-250-79314-0 $10.99
(2) YA Beau, a gifted Black sixteen-year-old artist living in Chicago public housing, idolized her older sister, Katia, even though Katia had begun to make questionable decisions under the influence of her boyfriend, Jordan. After Katia is gunned down by a white off-duty police officer accusing her of trying to break into his house, Beau believes that Jordan--who has gone missing--is to blame. She begins to search for Jordan in hopes of clearing her sister's name and soon discovers that she is not the only one looking for him, and that her search could risk the lives of everyone she cares about. As she wrestles with her own grief and the tragedy's effect on her family, Beau also makes rash choices in her attempts to prove her sister's innocence, even as she comes to realize Katia had more secrets than she'd thought. While the reader is drawn to Beau, her first-person narrative reveals motivations that seem counterintuitive, rendering her both a sympathetic and flawed character. Interspersed flashbacks to Beau's time with Katia deeply intertwine themes of love and grief. The mounting action culminates in a complex but comprehensible conclusion, given the unfortunate flaws and loopholes of the judicial system. Fans of Thomas's The Hate U Give (rev. 3/17) will find this a compelling read-alike.
Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

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