Book review - I Rise

 

Title: I Rise

Author: Marie Arnold

Genre: realistic fiction

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Rating:

 

worth reading and reflecting upon

Summary (provided by publisher): 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.

My opinion: These days we get a fair amount of books that present us with teen characters thrown into protest and social justice movements by tragic happenstance. In this novel, Arnold shows us instead a character who's whole life has been driven by the movement. Ayo is hoping to define herself outside of that world for the first time. Of course, circumstance forces her back into it but the set-up allows us to consider the question from a different angle - when we see something wrong, what is our obligation? When are we obligated to step-up and is there a fight too big? That's the other interesting element. We meet characters who can't handle the fight and that's okay. They recognize their limits and there's no shame in that. While the book has some elements that don't always ring true or that go too far, overall the discussion it introduces makes it well worth the read.

Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley