"An absolute must read." βBuzzfeed
"A gripping portrayal of the South's inherent racism and a love story for queer Black girls." βTeen Vogue
Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide in We Deserve Monuments, the award-winning debut novel from Jas Hammonds exploring the ways racial violence can ripple down through generations.
Whatβs more important: Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?
Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she's uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Averyβs mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, sheβs turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.
While tempers flare in her avoidant family, Avery finds friendship in unexpected places: in Simone Cole, her captivating next-door neighbor, and Jade Oliver, daughter of the townβs most prominent familyβwhose motherβs murder remains unsolved.
As the three girls grow closerβAvery and Simoneβs friendship blossoming into romanceβthe sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Averyβs family in ways she canβt even imagine. With Mama Letty's health dwindling every day, Avery must decide if digging for the truth is worth toppling the delicate relationships she's built in Bardellβor if some things are better left buried.