Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman by Kristen R. Lee
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers on February 1, 2022
ISBN: 0593309154
Pages: 336
Genres: Cultural / African American, Realistic Fiction
Format: Fiction
Goodreads

Reminiscent of Netflix’s Dear White People, this book highlights black students’ experiences at a predominantly white Ivy League university. Savannah works hard, with the support of her mother, to get the grades and gain acceptance into Wooddale with a full scholarship. The first in her family to attend college, she knows she has a real chance at pulling out of poverty and finding meaningful ways to give back to her community.

Then she finds herself looking at the defaced statue of the school’s first black president. After watching the reaction of her fellow classmates, a kernel of activism begins to develop, and soon she is leading an anonymous social media campaign to denounce racism and call for change. 

The more Savannah and her friends learn about Wooddale and its history, the more they realize they are up against. Legacy families buying their children’s way in, reports of hate crimes swept under the rug, and a general mentality of white supremacy have stained the culture of the school for generations.

Is there anything that can actually be done? And at what cost to black students’ safety and educational experience?

Reviewed by Kristi Favaloro, Skidompha Public Library, Damariscotta