All You Have to Do

By Autumn Allen

Book Overview

Powerful, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, this debut YA novel by author Autumn Allen is a gripping look at what it takes (and takes and takes) for two Black students to succeed in prestigious academic institutions in America.

In ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, two Black young men attend prestigious schools nearly thirty years apart, and yet both navigate similar forms of insidious racism.

In April 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, Kevin joins a protest that shuts down his Ivy League campus...

In September 1995, amidst controversy over the Million Man March, Gibran challenges the "See No Color" hypocrisy of his prestigious New England prep school...

As the two students, whose lives overlap in powerful ways, risk losing the opportunities their parents worked hard to provide, they move closer to discovering who they want to be instead of accepting as fact who society and family tell them they are.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593619048
• ISBN13: 9780593619049
• Release Date: August 2023
• Publisher: Kokila
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.9" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Compelling, intense historical fiction

All You Have to Do follows two young Black men living about thirty years apart. Kevin is protesting at Columbia University days after the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, fighting the racist policies of the university. Gibran is attending a predominantly white prep school in 1995 at the time of the Million Man March and is frustrated with the racist attitudes of some fellow students and the lack of support from the school's administration. We see how each young man grows as he attempts to succeed at his academic institution while navigating systemic white supremacy and discovering connections between class, race and gender. Neither man chooses to keep his head down and stay under the radar, as he is often advised to do. This book is eye opening as it shows us how much has changed, but also how much has stayed the same. Gibran's story could be set in the present day, were it not for the absence of the internet or cell phones. The characters are well written and real. The story and settings are powerful and thought provoking. As the story progresses, the reader discovers an important connection between Kevin and Gibran. All You Have to Do is compelling, intense historical fiction.