When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
Published by Quill Tree Books on January 5, 2021
ISBN: 0062945890
Pages: 368
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Recommending for Cream. When black sixteen-year-old Jayson’s sister Nicole doesn’t come home after a late-night party, it takes him a few days of keeping it from their grandmother guardian Mimi, before he comes to the realization that she may be in trouble.  Besides his white bff Bowie and Riley, the pastor’s daughter from his church, he doesn’t see anyone else taking Nic’s disappearance seriously.  Even the black police officer and the media, who interviewed Mimi, insinuate that Nic is at fault due to her choice of hanging with the neighborhood drug dealing crew.  As he gets further overwhelmed between receiving physical injuries while gather info from Nic’s potential drug contacts, trying to keep his new job at Taco Bell, and taking care of Mimi who had a stroke, Jayson learns about leaning on friends and battling misconceptions that even he holds about who to trust.   Harris spins a story that will engage readers from the first page as she illustrates the consequences of racism in struggling communities and the influences of media, drugs and friends in tearing down and building up of each other.   There are many things to unpack here, and yet Harris has kept the focus on Jayson’s growth without distractions.  Highly recommended for Teen collections.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services, Springvale Public Library