I'm Not Dying with You Tonight

July 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-High schoolers Lena James and Campbell Carlson are not what most people would consider best friends. Lena is African American and a bit rough around the edges. Campbell is white and finding her place at a new school. They unexpectedly befriend each other when a racist incident occurs at their high school football game and results in a riot in the commercial district of town. Lena is pining to reach her unreliable boyfriend, aspiring rapper Black, who is just not that reciprocal about their relationship. Campbell simply wants to go home after working the concession stand on the orders of her dad, who owns the hardware store in town. Their newfound friendship is tested by the riot's effect on the store and the connection Black's friends have with it. Segal and Jones have proven themselves a dynamic duo in crafting this fast-paced, honest, and page-turning YA novel. Lena and Campbell navigate through the tough issues of race, class, and community relations in their own different yet similar voices and perspectives. Readers will be relieved that the novel avoids the "white savior" narrative. Some readers may get annoyed with Lena's obliviousness to Black's treatment of her, despite concerns from family and friends. Fans of the classic sitcom A Different World will immediately recognize the nod to Lena James, the Hillman student played by Jada Pinkett Smith. VERDICT Librarians will want to purchase this relevant and discussion-worthy YA novel.-Donald Peebles, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2019
Two teenage girls--Lena and Campbell--come together following a football game night gone wrong. Campbell, who is white and new to Atlanta, now attends the school where Lena, who is black, is a queen bee. At a game between McPherson High and their rival, a racist slur leads to fights, and shots are fired. The unlikely pair are thrown together as they try to escape the dangers on campus only to find things are even more perilous on the outside; a police blockade forces them to walk through a dangerous neighborhood toward home. En route, a peaceful protest turns into rioting, and the presence of police sets off a clash with protestors with gruesome consequences. The book attempts to tackle racial injustice in America by offering two contrasting viewpoints via narrators of different races. However, it portrays black characters as violent and criminal and the white ones as excusably ignorant and subtly racist, seemingly redeemed by moments when they pause to consider their privileges and biases. Unresolved story arcs, underdeveloped characters, and a jumpy plot that tries to pack too much into too small a space leave the story lacking. This is not a story of friendship but of how trauma can forge a bond--albeit a weak and questionable one--if only for a night. An unpolished grab bag of incidents that tries to make a point about racial inequality. (Fiction. 15-adult)

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September 16, 2019
Debut authors Segal and Jones deliver split points of view in this drama that follows two teens: Lena, who is black, and Campbell, who is white and new to Lena’s school. After a racially charged fight breaks out during a football game, school resource officers become involved, gunshots crack the tentative hold preventing an all-out riot, and the night erupts. Lena, unable to get a ride away from the madness, teams up with Campbell to make their way home, where Lena’s boyfriend is working on his album. Along the way, protests draw white supremacists, who run over a black woman, setting off more violence. Though Lena and Campbell’s stories seek to tell the gripping perspectives of two girls from different backgrounds, the characters lack dimension. Unfortunately, the novel stops just short of wrapping up Lena’s story, leaving Campbell with a more full character arc, while Lena, problematically, feels more like a mouthpiece for a stereotypical black experience. Nonetheless, the novel’s timely, accessible look at urgent issues of racial justice will likely draw interest. Ages 14–17. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary.