Reviews with content warning for Murder - Your House Will Pay

this is my first literary/race themed book of the year & im thoroughly pleased to say the least
based off of the murder of latasha harlins in the early 90s, this book details a fictional story of racially motivated crime and how to come to terms with the repercussions of ones actions. i noticed throughout the book that the racist rhetoric on grace’s part is changed through her use of “yeah xyz is true BUT…” statements — statements that once held racist undertones lightened throughout the book as grace uncovered the whole story.
i took away half of a star because the stories didnt converge until later in the book than i was expecting, but i wouldnt consider that to be a critique on the story itself
i hadnt read a book quite like this one before & im very interested in reading similar novels in the future !

(my copy had 299 pages)

Content Warnings

cernst09's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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debimorton's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Shawn, Ava, Ray, Darryl, Aunt Sheila. Jung-Ja Han (Yvonne), Grace, Miriam. Los Angeles. Black, Korean.

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hazelgirl21's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jackelz's review against another edition

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informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This book is based on the death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at the hands of a Korean-American store owner, Soon Ja Du, in 1991.

Du accused Latasha of shoplifting a bottle of orange juice, and their verbal altercation escalated into a physical one. Then the woman grabbed a gun and fired, killing the girl. When police arrived on the scene, they discovered that Latasha had the money for the juice in her hand — $2. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but served no jail time.

I’ve read about the protests in LA following the beating of Rodney King, and I’ve read books that mention the tension between Koreans and African-Americans, but I never knew why, and I’m thankful this book opened my eyes to that.
➞ During the riots of 1992, 2,280 Korean American-owned stores had been looted, burned or damaged, amounting to about $400 million in losses.

Your House Will Pay is set in the summer of 2019, after yet another police shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

I love how the story was formatted, and that the book touches on both sides of the story. As the background story slowly unfolds, we are constantly learning more about the characters and how these events have shaped their lives. The narrative will have you questioning your familial relationships, your biases, and the Justice system.

This story will stick with me for a long time. Thank you Kristin Lee for recommending this one!

Content Warnings

kutub_qahwa's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow, what a book! Such an emotional journey, parts of it were so hard to read, and parts that I sped through. The author does an amazing job capturing such different lives and perspectives. There are so many feelings this book bring out. 10/10 recommend!

Content Warnings

internationalreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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ajlct's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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