All You Have to Do

· Penguin
5.0
1 review
Ebook
432
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

Powerful, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, this debut YA novel by author Autumn Allen is a gripping look at what it takes (and takes and takes) for two Black students to succeed in prestigious academic institutions in America.

In ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, two Black young men attend prestigious schools nearly thirty years apart, and yet both navigate similar forms of insidious racism.

In April 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, Kevin joins a protest that shuts down his Ivy League campus...

In September 1995, amidst controversy over the Million Man March, Gibran challenges the “See No Color” hypocrisy of his prestigious New England prep school...

As the two students, whose lives overlap in powerful ways, risk losing the opportunities their parents worked hard to provide, they move closer to discovering who they want to be instead of accepting as fact who society and family tell them they are.

Ratings and reviews

5.0
1 review
Penny Olson
November 22, 2023
All You Have to Do follows two students, young Black men living about thirty years apart, one in the 1960s and one in the 1990s. 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. The characters are well written and real. The story and settings are powerful and thought provoking. All You Have to Do is compelling, intense historical fiction.
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

Autumn Allen teaches literature and writing workshops for young people and edits picture books as a senior editor at Barefoot Books. She teaches children’s literature at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds graduate degrees in education, children's literature and writing for children from Harvard and Simmons Universities. Her forthcoming picture books, Step On Board: Sculpting a Memorial to Harriet Tubman, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, and Answered Prayers, will be published by Knopf. All You Have to Do is her debut novel. Autumn grew up in Boston and lives in Massachusetts with her family. Visit her website at autumnallenbooks.com.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.