Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me is a memoir formatted as a series of letters written to his son, and it asks and addresses the primary question of the text, "How can someone live in a world that actively wants them dead?" Or more specifically, how can a black person live in America? This pseudo/somewhat memoir is a deep exploration into Coates' life experiences and the lessons they taught him, from his childhood, to college, to the death of his acquaintance.

To quote Toni Morrison, author of Beloved and The Bluest Eye, "this is required reading." This is one of the most intimate and emotionally open books I've ever read. Though it was written over a decade ago, it still feels tragically modern. "Tragically" is the key, as the issues of racism and prejudice are still around as heavily as it was in the past. This modernity mentions a lot of popular culture (recent enough to actually recognize it), but those aspects shouldn't take away from the nuance.

Reviewed by Nathan R, Grade 11

Glendale Central Library