Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay by Kelly McWilliams
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Blackwell’s | Indigo | Indiebound
Synopsis
This sharp-witted, timely novel explores cancel culture, anger, and grief, and challenges the romanticization of America’s racist past with humor and heart—for readers of Dear Martin by Nic Stone and Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson.
Harriet Douglass lives with her historian father on an old plantation in Louisiana, which they’ve transformed into one of the South’s few enslaved people’s museums. Together, while grieving the recent loss of Harriet’s mother, they run tours that help keep the memory of the past alive.
Harriet’s world is turned upside down by the arrival of mother and daughter Claudia and Layla Hartwell—who plan to turn the property next door into a wedding venue, and host the offensively antebellum-themed wedding of two Hollywood stars.
Harriet’s fully prepared to hate Layla Hartwell, but it seems that Layla might not be so bad after all—unlike many people, this California influencer is actually interested in Harriet’s point of view. Harriet’s sure she can change the hearts of Layla and her mother, but she underestimates the scale of the challenge…and when her school announces that prom will be held on the plantation, Harriet’s just about had it with this whole racist timeline! Overwhelmed by grief and anger, it’s fair to say she snaps.
Can Harriet use the power of social media to cancel the celebrity wedding and the plantation prom? Will she accept that she’s falling in love with her childhood best friend, who’s unexpectedly returned after years away? Can she deal with the frustrating reality that Americans seem to live in two completely different countries? And through it all, can she and Layla build a bridge between them?
Content Warning: racism, mentions of slavery, grief from death of a loved one
Review
Coming soon…
Top 5 Reasons to Read Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay
- Harriet is truly a loveable character and you definitely get to experience a wide range of emotions and thought processes behind her eyes.
- This book gives you a deeper look into cancel culture. Cancel culture can sometimes be very surface level in it’s meaning, but YPPINO allows us to see the reasons behind this cultural phenomenon.
- Kelly McWilliams does a wonderful job at handling the darker topics in this book. Topics such as racism and grief are handled with care.
- A well thought out plot about systemic racism and how hard it is to combat this.
- The story is fast paced and definitely able to read in one sitting (I couldn’t put it down)!
Kelly is the mixed-race author of AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2020), MIRROR GIRLS (2022), and YOUR PLANTATION PROM IS NOT OKAY (2023). AGNES was a finalist for the Golden Kite Award. She’s also written for Time, Publisher’s Weekly, and Bustle, among other outlets. She lives in Seattle with her family.
TBR and Beyond Tour Schedule: Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay
May 15th
Stuck in Fiction – Promotional Post
May 16th
PopTheButterfly Reads – Promotional Post
Justice For Readers – Top 5 Reasons to Read Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay
May 17th
Reading Stewardess – Review, Playlist
The Litt Librarian – Review
May 18th
The Clever Reader – Top 5 Reasons to Read Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay
May 19th
Phannie the ginger bookworm – Promotional Post
Read and Reviewed – Review
May 20th
Confessions of a YA Reader – Promotional Post
Jen Jen Reviews – Review
May 21st
The Book Dutchesses – Promotional Post
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