I Rise

Fourteen-year-old Ayo is torn between wanting to be a normal teenager and being an active member in her mother’s civil rights organization that focuses on the social injustices suffered by Black Americans. Ayo decides to leave the group but when her mother is shot by a policeman during a protest, Ayo must decide whether she wants to take over the organization that she was so eager to leave. This timely and engaging novel focuses on the systemic and casual racism the Black community faces, including police brutality, inequalities in healthcare, interracial dating issues, and cultural appropriation. It provides commentary on significant issues of racial prejudice and injustice, past and present.