Thomas’ debut novel begins when a police officer shoots a black teenager at a traffic stop. The subsequent public outrage and media attention raises questions about police brutality in the neighborhood. At the center of it all is Starr, the sole witness to her friend’s murder, and the only one who can testify what really happened. The incident forces her to reconcile her grief with a burning resentment towards her apathetic classmates and local law enforcement. Starr and her peers represent a generation of young people learning to navigate conversations about race. Thomas strives to unpack subtle and overt forms of racism in America, the complexities of social mobility, and acts of resistance that attempt to combat inequality. Ages 14 and up.
Thomas will be in conversation with Rose Dawson, Executive Director of the Alexandria Library.
