I will preface this review by saying that I do believe that this is a story that needs to be told. Although there are a few books arising that address the issue of Black identity in relation to the rigid, white Western world of academia, they are still very much in the minority and tend to be mostly thrillers as opposed to actual explorations on the topic. Hence my decision to take what would otherwise be a 2.5 star review and round it up to 3 stars.
The themes of this book are solid. We have our two protagonists, Kevin and Gibran, both battling entrenched racism in their prestigious academic institutions in the 1960s and 1990s respectively. There is discussion about the exclusion of Black history and identity in these institutions, and how the historical whiteness of academia tends to still push that trend of exclusion even as they give lip service to integration and opportunity. All of these points were themes that I could agree with, understand, and support as Kevin and Gibran became frustrated with the administrators in charge of pushing these philosophies.
What I couldn't understand or support was the unlikability of both of these characters as their frustration with the institution caused them to lash out at the friends and family around them. Perhaps my dislike stems from my own personal background as an Indian woman and not a Black man, and therefore my own ignorance on the nuances and everyday struggles of this group, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated at how often both Kevin and Gibran criticized if not outright insulted the Black individuals in their life that chose to work within the system and use it as a stepping stone for the future. It often seemed as if the author was trying to depict them as sellouts instead of individuals reliant on the system and therefore trying their best to make it work for them as best as they could, with the potential of using it for their own gain. In other words, it seemed as if the protagonists in their quest to make their environments more inclusive were instead pushing for more exclusion.
Again, perhaps this is my own misunderstanding and biases coming into play into how I enjoyed this book. Still, I could not help but feel frustrated with both Kevin and Gibran as they would talk about Black people needing work within their own community to fix their issues without help from others and Black women needing to be placed on a pedestal. Both of those statements seemed to be exclusionary to the point where I couldn't help but wonder if it pushed for a new, different type of segregation.
All criticisms aside, I do feel that "All You Have To Do" does do one thing right, and that is bring up the topic of the exclusionary and inherent elitism of academia in opposition to the Black identity. Again, while other books have done this ("Ace of Spades" comes to mind), it has been mostly been undercut with a thriller/high stakes plot that tends to obscure the racial themes. This book does not have that, and is a book bent on solely exploring those racial themes. That being said, I do hope there is more discourse and more YA novels that bring up different aspects of the Black struggle in this regard because this one did have elements that were a bit disjointed and concerning for me.
The themes of this book are solid. We have our two protagonists, Kevin and Gibran, both battling entrenched racism in their prestigious academic institutions in the 1960s and 1990s respectively. There is discussion about the exclusion of Black history and identity in these institutions, and how the historical whiteness of academia tends to still push that trend of exclusion even as they give lip service to integration and opportunity. All of these points were themes that I could agree with, understand, and support as Kevin and Gibran became frustrated with the administrators in charge of pushing these philosophies.
What I couldn't understand or support was the unlikability of both of these characters as their frustration with the institution caused them to lash out at the friends and family around them. Perhaps my dislike stems from my own personal background as an Indian woman and not a Black man, and therefore my own ignorance on the nuances and everyday struggles of this group, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated at how often both Kevin and Gibran criticized if not outright insulted the Black individuals in their life that chose to work within the system and use it as a stepping stone for the future. It often seemed as if the author was trying to depict them as sellouts instead of individuals reliant on the system and therefore trying their best to make it work for them as best as they could, with the potential of using it for their own gain. In other words, it seemed as if the protagonists in their quest to make their environments more inclusive were instead pushing for more exclusion.
Again, perhaps this is my own misunderstanding and biases coming into play into how I enjoyed this book. Still, I could not help but feel frustrated with both Kevin and Gibran as they would talk about Black people needing work within their own community to fix their issues without help from others and Black women needing to be placed on a pedestal. Both of those statements seemed to be exclusionary to the point where I couldn't help but wonder if it pushed for a new, different type of segregation.
All criticisms aside, I do feel that "All You Have To Do" does do one thing right, and that is bring up the topic of the exclusionary and inherent elitism of academia in opposition to the Black identity. Again, while other books have done this ("Ace of Spades" comes to mind), it has been mostly been undercut with a thriller/high stakes plot that tends to obscure the racial themes. This book does not have that, and is a book bent on solely exploring those racial themes. That being said, I do hope there is more discourse and more YA novels that bring up different aspects of the Black struggle in this regard because this one did have elements that were a bit disjointed and concerning for me.