Autumn AllenRecensioni

Chronicles the experiences of two Black students balancing family and personal expectations while engaging in the precarious work of organizing.

In 1995, Massachusetts high school senior Gibran’s ambivalent about attending a mostly White prep school. When a talent show performance by White students uses Black rapper aesthetics for cheap laughs, Gibran, quite literally, pulls the plug on it. This small act results in a strong warning: one more “disruption” before he’s expelled. His sympathetic mother reminds him to focus on his Howard University scholarship: “The question is, do you deserve the punishment you’re going to get for giving them what they deserve?” But when Gibran and others who wish to honor the upcoming Million Man March clash with administrators, his choices place him in jeopardy. In 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Columbia University student Kevin is organizing with the Society of Afro-American Students. They oppose Columbia’s expansion into Harlem, which would displace residents, and, as the Vietnam War rages, they want the university to renounce ties to war research. After reading sensationalized headlines, Kevin’s parents try to dissuade him from further participation in the lengthy, increasingly hostile student-led campus occupation. Allen constructs a vivid narrative that balances both timelines seamlessly and pointedly highlights often overlooked history. The crisp, succinct prose and fully realized characters make this a shining example of how principled research in lock step with exceptional writing creates an unforgettable reading experience.

An electric debut: a must-read for all. (acronyms and organizations, author’s note) (Fiction. 12-18)

-Kirkus Review

FROM AUDIOFILE: A duet of narrators delivers the protagonists' alternating chapters and the time periods that influence them. Nile Bullock portrays Gibran, a Black senior at a predominately white suburban high school. Bullock expresses Gibran's fiery response when his request to attend the 1995 Million Man March is denied by his school. When he attempts to organize a protest, the school administration makes a decision that jeopardizes his future. In a time shift to 1968, Kevin Free uses a calmer affect for Gibran's uncle, Kevin, whose responses to racial inequity are contained but equally strong. Inflamed by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., he and others confront Columbia University's policies. The author portrays Dawn, Gibran's mother and Kevin's sister, who connects the men and their parallel stories. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2023]

Trade Ed. • Listening Library • 2023

DD ISBN 9780593744727 $27.50



Library Ed. • Listening Library • 2023

DD ISBN 9780593744734 $69.00

This is a great book. It does well telling the story from two perspectives and I love how the stories weave together gradually. Well worth the read.

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. Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy to review.

Here's a fine choice for the high school kid in your life as well as their parents and grandparents. Local Boston author Autumn Allen tells two important stories: Kevin, a Columbia University freshman in 1968 during the student takeover; and his nephew Gibran, a Boston private school student in 1995, during the time of the Million Men March on Washington. Both are surrounded by disinterested administrations and primarily white student bodies, but both improve their situations by joining with fellow activists to draw attention to and to denounce racism. The two have a strong tie in common, but also a mysterious family estrangement. The resolution is a bit weak, but overall, this historical fiction is perfect for those who may have missed out on the significance of both eras in the ongoing struggle for racial justice.½

"All You Have to Do" is an excellent book for both young adult and adult audiences. It's a dual-POV book where both main characters have an equally important part in the overall story. They're both young black men coming of age in different time periods, and having these two POVs shows both how society has changed and how it hasn't in regards to racism in America, specifically regarding its educational institutions and the way people are denied education as a means of suppression. The characters are Gibran, whose part takes place in the 90s, and his uncle Kevin, whose part is in the 60s.

I thought this was a successful historical novel that touched on important events that more people should know about and think about, but I also thought it was a good character-driven book as well. Kevin and Gibran are both good characters; flawed but relatable. Allen's writing was excellent as well, and I'd happily read another book by her.

I was very interested to read All You Have to Do. I do enjoy dual timeline books a lot. I enjoyed the author’s writing. I feel like I learned some things reading this story. The story is about Gibran in 1995 dealing with racism and also about his uncle,Kevin in 1968 dealing with it as well. It is unforunate that after 30 years Black men still have to deal with some of the issues they did in society. The author shows how Black men and women sometimes deal with racism differently; women would just sort of let things go to avoid confrontation and men felt like they needed to stand up for themselves, which seems to be true. It is sad how Kevin was treated differently than the white boys in school. The author showed how Kevin’s mother tried to protect him by asking him not to “cause” trouble at school by standing up for himself only because she wanted the best for him. I truly enjoyed this book.

All You Have to Do follows two young Black men: Kevin, a student at the University of Columbia in the 1960s protesting the expansion of the Columbia campus at the expense of the residents of Harlem, and Gibran, his nephew in the 1990s as he tries to get permission for himself and the other Black boys at his majority white prep school to attend the Million Man March. Both navigate racism both in the education system and America at large and struggle with striking a balance between their commitment to resistance and social/political change, maintaining their relationships with their families and communities, and accepting their own needs and limitations. The narrative brought in a lot of nuance regarding different ways of approaching this conflict both from the main characters and many of the side characters. It demonstrated how socioeconomic status, gender, past, etc. impact how a person can fight injustice and what they stand to lose and how long-term social movements need people who can find a balance instead of burning out.

One aspect that was especially well done was the strong sense of history throughout. Both in its grounding in real historical events and also the family history shared by Kevin and Gibran. Their parents', grandparents', and siblings' pasts and experiences weave together shaping and being shaped by those of the main characters.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO will be the next one up in Florida's Banned Book Contest!

This amazing YA historical fiction novel of silence vs resistance promises to ignite controversy into any classroom where it is allowed.

Kevin, from the 1960s and Colombia University, and Gibran, from the late 1990s
at private Lakeside Academy, deliver honest emotional portrayals of both young men's inner thoughts as they conflict with Black family and White school expectations.

Their on the scene actions deepen the 30 year separated plots as they reflect on what they conclude was right and what they totally wish they had done differently to affect the outcome of history. Dialogue is complex and engaging.

The impact of assassinations, the March on Washington, and the Million Man March offer widely divergent conclusions, both within the Black community and from the White people who are never counted as friends. Evern in Adrian's open class, there is not even one White student who gets it...?

Half-face drawings introduced by Gibran's powerful artist mother will be welcome to see in a final book.

Plot slowed with Mother not reading letter from her brother for 20 years...
As well, what happened to the one student who was arrested at the chain link fence?

(Enough with tired old "snap" and suck teeth and biting cuticles...)