ONE OF OUR KIND
By Nicola Yoon
Suspense / Mystery /Dystopian / Social Commentary
Knopf
Print Length: 272 pages
Release Date: June 11, 2024
ABOUT THE BOOK: #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon’s daring new work of dystopian horror is a propulsive satire set in an all-Black gated community.
Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the luxe wellness center at the top of the hill, which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world’s troubles.
Jasmyn’s only friends in the community are equally perplexed and frustrated by most residents' outlook. Then Jasmyn discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders. Frustration turns to dread as their loved ones start embracing the Liberty way of life.
Will the truth destroy her world in ways she never could have imagined?
A gripping thriller with wry, razor-sharp social commentary, One of Our Kind explores the ways in which freedom is complicated by the presumptions we make about ourselves and each other.
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REVIEW
HALL WAYS REVIEW: It's been a long time since I have been able to read without strings attached, and when a friend and I were in a bookstore recently, and she recommended ONE OF OUR KIND, I snagged it*. I was immediately drawn in and read it straight through the day after I bought it.
From the start, author Nicola Yoon drops the "something's off" in the utopian town of Liberty, CA, vibe, and the story she weaves to get to the big reveal at the end had my head spinning. ONE OF OUR KIND feels very much like Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- but without the aliens.
I have to speak vaguely so that I don't give away any spoilers. Peeling away the layers in Liberty, readers will get increasingly uncomfortable with how rotten things are. Through Yoon's outstanding characterization, readers will get to go deep with the main character, Jasmyn, and watch like a fly on the wall as her world spirals. The sense of dread that Yoon builds is palpable.
Reading the book from the perspective of a white woman, I felt woefully uninformed about Black culture and community and the challenges of a racially charged society. And I was reminded of things I've never had to worry about because of the color of my skin (like at what age a Black parent has the "cop talk" with their children). It was heartbreaking for so many reasons.
I did not guess at the resolution -- or maybe I did but was thinking NO WAY -- and I have to admit that it smacked me hard and made me feel... well, lots of things: Sad by the spot-on social commentary and the state of racism and the impossibility of escaping it; righteously indignant that THIS is the solution the leaders of Liberty concocted; sad again that people were lining up for it.
There's so much for me to unpack and think about and improve upon after reading ONE OF OUR KIND. It will stay with me a while.
*I purchased my signed copy at the fabulous Sundog Books in Seaside, FL.
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