Invisible Son

Starred review from April 17, 2023
In February 2020, after spending two months in a juvenile correction facility for a crime he didn’t commit, 17-year-old Andre Jackson is finally on his way home. His probation officer insists that Dre has been given a new lease on life, but Dre is worried about what his grandparents will think of him upon his return to the family’s rapidly gentrifying corner of Portland, Ore. Still, Dre is determined to clean up his reputation, which involves confronting his best friend Eric Whitaker, who allowed Dre to take the fall for Eric’s crime. He quickly learns that Eric is missing, and Eric’s sister Sierra—Dre’s first love—doesn’t understand why no one, not even their white adoptive parents, is looking for him. As Dre embarks on his own investigation, societal conflicts—including Covid and protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd—and Sierra’s parents’ increasingly suspect behavior, complicate matters. Smooth pacing and anticipatory tension imbue this hard-hitting mystery with a chilling atmosphere. Via Dre’s contemplative voice and a timely setting, Johnson (This Is My America) balances intrigue with socially conscious ruminations on systemic and environmental racism, and the power in reclaiming one’s narrative. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown Literary.

July 1, 2023
Like so many young Black men, Andre Jackson feels invisible. Falsely accused and convicted of a crime, Andre emerges from juvenile detention intending to return to some sense of normalcy. However, he comes home to his rapidly gentrifying Portland, Oregon, neighborhood just as the world is plunged into a global pandemic. His friend Eric, who Andre hoped would help clear his name, is missing, which raises questions around why Eric's seemingly perfect, diverse family appears unconcerned about his vanishing without a trace. Are Andre's arrest and Eric's disappearance connected? As Andre begins to unravel the secrets around Eric and to make sense of his own post-release reality, he dares to pursue freedom in a world closed in by the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, and violence that is brewing much closer than he realizes. Johnson's (This Is My America, rev. 9/20) mystery-thriller is a gut-wrenching first-person look at the life of a young man who feels his disposability as a Black teen within the justice system while witnessing with the world the extrajudicial murder of George Floyd. The isolation of the pandemic and the intensity of the Black Lives Matter protests provide the backdrop to a riveting story line that is also a social commentary on power, privilege, marginalization, and the carceral system and its impact on Black men. Back matter includes an author's note and resources on topics including youth incarceration and transracial adoption. Monique Harris

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 15, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Andre Jackson is coming home after two months in juvenile detention for a robbery he had nothing to do with. Released early and participating in a community monitoring program, he is staying with his grandparents. Next door is the Whitaker house, where Sierra, a girl he likes, lives. Along with her brother, Eric, and Luis, a boy from Mexico, she was adopted by the Whitakers. Mr. Whitaker has been exceptionally helpful to Andre and his family, securing a good lawyer for Andre and always ready to solve a problem or provide money. Andre's uneasy, though, because he's desperate to talk to Eric, whom Andre covered for in the robbery and who may have set Andre up--but Eric has vanished without a trace, and Andre thinks Mr. Whitaker might know more than he's letting on. Most people believe Eric ran away, but Sierra isn't buying it. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has been declared, locking down the world just as Andre begins to suspect that the Whitakers are lying to him. Set against the backdrop of George Floyd's murder and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Johnson's novel is thoughtful, passionate, and eloquent. Hard truths are expressed through Andre's honest and sharp observations of the events. Each chapter title is a song from a playlist on Andre's YouTube channel, which plays a pivotal role in the gripping, explosive plot. A must-have read-alike for anything by Tiffany D. Jackson.

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Starred review from April 1, 2023
An African American boy released from a juvenile detention center attempts to clear his name amid a pandemic and a social justice movement that are reshaping his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Seventeen-year-old Andre Jackson is returning home to participate in a restorative justice program. He was trying to keep his friend Eric Whitaker from getting in trouble, but it backfired, and he was charged for a crime Eric committed. Andre's life used to revolve around swimming, the YouTube channel he created with his best friend, and Sierra, who is his crush and Eric's biological sister (the two Black teens were adopted by White parents). Now Andre is trying to rebuild his life while adjusting to the Covid-19 pandemic and a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. He wants to find out why Eric might have betrayed him instead of telling the truth. But Eric is missing, and his parents aren't answering questions. As schools switch to remote learning and people protest the murder of George Floyd, Andre begins his own investigation. His efforts reveal a different, disturbing picture of the Whitakers' multiracial family--they also have two biological children and a son adopted from Mexico. The novel tackles in a nuanced way topics such as the erasure of Black history, the disproportionate negative impact of the pandemic on communities of color, and entrenched racial bias in the justice system. The strong pacing and vivid characterization will keep readers engaged. A powerful, emotional, and insightful read. (author's note, resources) (Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2023
Like so many young Black men, Andre Jackson feels invisible. Falsely accused and convicted of a crime, Andre emerges from juvenile detention intending to return to some sense of normalcy. However, he comes home to his rapidly gentrifying Portland, Oregon, neighborhood just as the world is plunged into a global pandemic. His friend Eric, who Andre hoped would help clear his name, is missing, which raises questions around why Eric's seemingly perfect, diverse family appears unconcerned about his vanishing without a trace. Are Andre's arrest and Eric's disappearance connected? As Andre begins to unravel the secrets around Eric and to make sense of his own post-release reality, he dares to pursue freedom in a world closed in by the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, and violence that is brewing much closer than he realizes. Johnson's (This Is My America, rev. 9/20) mystery-thriller is a gut-wrenching first-person look at the life of a young man who feels his disposability as a Black teen within the justice system while witnessing with the world the extrajudicial murder of George Floyd. The isolation of the pandemic and the intensity of the Black Lives Matter protests provide the backdrop to a riveting story line that is also a social commentary on power, privilege, marginalization, and the carceral system and its impact on Black men. Back matter includes an author's note and resources on topics including youth incarceration and transracial adoption.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)