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Your next favorite book
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From debut author Pamela Harris comes a timely, gripping teen novel about a boy who must take up the search for his sister when she goes missing from a neighborhood where black girls' disappearances are too often overlooked. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Tiffany D. Jackson.
When you look like us—brown skin, brown eyes, black braids or fades—everyone else thinks you're trouble. No one even blinks twice over a missing black girl from public housing because she must've brought whatever happened to her upon herself. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister Nicole just got caught up with her boyfriend—a drug dealer—and his friends. But she's been gone too long. Nic, where are you?
If I hadn't hung up on her that night, she would be at our house, spending time with Grandma.
If I was a better brother, she'd be finishing senior year instead of being another name on a missing persons list.
It's time to step up, to do what the Newport News police department won't.
Bring her home.
"Harris' book shines a light on the repercussions of institutionalized racism on Black communities and the plight of missing Black girls. Readers will ponder this story long after they turn the final page. A powerful story about misperceptions, reality, and the lives lived in between." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This is a high-speed story that will draw teens in and keep them turning pages until they reach the unpredictable and thrilling ending. Fans of Jason Reynolds and Nic Stone will devour this novel. A must for YA collections." - School Library Journal (starred review)
"[A] poignant debut novel. Harris creates a vividly drawn world, a rich cast of characters, and an authentic neighborhood." - Booklist
This information about When You Look Like Us was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Pamela N. Harris was born and somewhat raised in Newport News, Virginia—also affectionately known as "Bad News." A former school counselor by day, she received her BA in English and her master's in school counseling at Old Dominion University, her MFA in creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a PhD in counselor education and supervision at The College of William & Mary. When she isn't writing, Pam is rewatching Leonardo DiCaprio movies, chasing after her two kiddos, and pretending to enjoy exercising. When You Look Like Us is her debut novel. She lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.
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