Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman

December 1, 2021
Savannah Howard leaves home in Tennessee to attend prestigious Ivy League Wooddale University on a full scholarship. With her Mama's mantra--"I've worked hard. I deserve to be here"--in her heart, hardworking Black 18-year-old Savannah has the common sense to know that predominantly White Wooddale will be a world apart from life in the Memphis projects where she grew up. However, nothing can prepare her for the hurtful microaggressions she faces on Day 1 from her privileged roommate, Elaina, and Elaina's mother or the defacing of the statue commemorating the first Black president of Wooddale. When she suspects that student-body president Lucas and his frat brothers are responsible for the incident, Savannah's quest for justice begins alongside her new friends, Black sophomores Tasha and Benji. Online, she uses the #WoodaleConfessions hashtag to draw attention to the cause. Savannah's voice is clear, and through her, Lee's debut presents readers with a highly relatable, strong female lead. Savannah wants to make her mother proud and stay solid for her brilliant BFF, B'onca, who has been dealt a different hand. She vacillates between keeping her head down and working toward her degree and being an activist. What transpires will leave readers in awe of her integrity and grit. This novel will speak to anyone who has struggled with knowing whether the right thing to do was the right thing for them. A moving and authentic exploration of one young woman's moral compass. (Fiction. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 For Savannah, getting into Wooddale University means more than getting into an Ivy League institution; Wooddale represents a pinnacle of achievement in Savannah's life, something worthy of her mother's sacrifices. Transitioning to the majority-white university becomes a primary source of conflict for Savannah, however; it is here, in this institution of higher learning, that she learns what it is to be truly othered and isolated. Savannah comes to terms with wearing her Blackness like a beacon, and at first, she tries desperately to acclimate to the world of blatant racism and casual microaggressions. When an act of vandalism occurs on campus, Savannah is forced into the role of activist, and she has to learn to navigate the world of both friendship and antagonism. Lee's debut novel tackles issues that are integral to the Black experience at primarily white institutions. With a world of sass and more than a hint of Black girl magic, Lee gives readers a quintessential coming-of-age novel that leaves us pining for more of Savannah's heroism.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 7, 2022
In Memphis, Tenn., Savannah Howard skipped parties and worked hard to attend Ivy League Wooddale University on scholarship, just like her mother always dreamed. But after the Black college freshman arrives on the predominantly white school’s campus, immediately experiencing microaggressions as well as witnessing the vandalism of a statue of the university’s first Black president, Wooddale’s history of racism starts becoming clear. Savannah cannot stand by in silence, and her online callout draws the attention of white Lucas Cunningham, a Wooddale legacy dedicated to continuing with so-called “jokes” that involve racist slurs. And though she finds solace in new friends Tasha and Benji, who are both Black, Savannah struggles with the pressure to “not be too Black” at school, the shifting reliability of her allies, and the disappointment that abandoning Wooddale might bring. As Wooddale’s administration does “a whole lot of nothing” about the mounting number of racist incidents on campus, Savannah rises to her calling as an activist, demanding justice for her community, even if it may cost her everything she’s worked for. Lee’s thoughtful debut, a timely, quickly paced look at the trauma Black students often face in white institutions, brings a refreshingly vulnerable honesty to this narrative centering one Black collegiate transition. Ages 14–up. Agent: Molly O’Neill, Root Literary.

Starred review from May 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-If the title does not motivate students to pick up this book, the premise is sure to. In this novel, readers meet Savannah, a young Black woman who has been accepted to an elite college as one of the top students in her graduating class. However, she has her heart set on attending an HBCU (historically Black college and university), but her mother insists that the more prestigious Ivy-like school is best. When Savannah sets foot on Wooddale University's campus, she faces microaggressions from her classmates. The conflict hits a peak when a statue of a Black former student is vandalized. Savannah decides she must step up and advocate for the school to change its policies and procedures to make the environment safer for all students. Combining advocacy, social media, and representation, Lee has created a masterpiece for high school and early college readers. Young adults will admire Savannah's voice and tenacity and see themselves as changemakers in her story. VERDICT Highly recommended. This is a fast-paced, plot-driven novel that tackles topics of racism, elitism, and intersections of those and other concerns of college freshman.-Tracey S. Hodges

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