FBI agent Yolanda Vance has been assigned to infiltrate a group of “radical” Black teens who are fighting against the environmental impacts a major corporation has on their city. Her task is to take them down before they can expose the company’s shady tactics. However, the more time she spends with the group, the more she understands why they’re fighting.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but I still enjoyed it. The concept is interesting and I like how the FBI’s COINTELPRO program was used in the plot.
Aya de León did a good job of exploring respectability politics and how deep brainwashing of Black people goes when our history is whitewashed. Yolanda battled with everything she had learned growing up -- that all you have to do is work hard to get ahead and that people use racism as an excuse for their failure -- when she was confronted with different perspectives.
While everything about the FBI storyline was compelling, the romance angle felt forced and unnecessary. I understood why it was necessary for Yolanda’s growth, but I felt like the main couple had no chemistry and their scenes bogged down the story.
This novel starts slow, but really picks up about halfway through, and I think this would make a great movie or TV show.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but I still enjoyed it. The concept is interesting and I like how the FBI’s COINTELPRO program was used in the plot.
Aya de León did a good job of exploring respectability politics and how deep brainwashing of Black people goes when our history is whitewashed. Yolanda battled with everything she had learned growing up -- that all you have to do is work hard to get ahead and that people use racism as an excuse for their failure -- when she was confronted with different perspectives.
While everything about the FBI storyline was compelling, the romance angle felt forced and unnecessary. I understood why it was necessary for Yolanda’s growth, but I felt like the main couple had no chemistry and their scenes bogged down the story.
This novel starts slow, but really picks up about halfway through, and I think this would make a great movie or TV show.