We Deserve Monuments

De: Jas Hammonds

Narrado por: Tamika Katon-Donegal

Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide in We Deserve Monuments, a YA debut from Jas Hammonds that explores how racial violence can ripple down through generations.

What’s 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 Avery’s 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, she’s 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 town’s most prominent family—whose mother’s murder remains unsolved.

As the three girls grow closer—Avery and Simone’s friendship blossoming into romance—the sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Avery’s family in ways she can’t 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 Bardell—or if some things are better left buried.

©2022 Jas Hammonds (P)2022 Recorded Books

Absolutely healing

This book made me cry and laugh. The story was beautifully complex and the characters painfully and relatably human. As a queer individual, I felt deeply seen. 10/10 one of the best books I've read in years.
The narration was fabulous! Each character had their own consistent voice that matched the writing very well.

Beautifully complex and moving!

Souk moving story with deep roots. Outstanding character development. Engaging narration. Listen again and again!

absolutely stunning

One of those books I wish I could start all over again from the beginning. compelling characters, a phenomenal vocal performance, and a mystery at the heart of it all. cannot recommend this highly enough!!!

10/10 Would Recommend

This was a phenomenal read. This book explored a mother-daughter relationship where unhealed trauma and grief manifested itself in so many ways - alcoholism being one of them. It mapped out the domino effect it had on the lives of not only them (mother and daughter) but also the people in their lives. It touched on so many tumultuous topics that people of color have had to navigate in their own lives over the years - racism, homosexuality, generational wealth acquired from slavery (plantation house). It was beautifully written. 10/10

Narrator did this justice! Loved it!

Grace is given to every member of this complicated and beautiful extended family by the author. It got me through the difficult parts and left me with hope. I think the narrator was perfect for the story and did a gorgeous job.

Narration of different characters seemed so real

Enjoyed listening to this book. Narrator kept a good pace which made it easy to listen to

Wow…

Pain is heavy and beautiful when your life is an amalgam of marginalized identities wrapped in the hopes of a dreamer. May I be so honored to know love in all its forms.

Yes we do!! I love the grace thst the characters showed each only in this story. Very heartfelt.

Support, family, history, love pain, the development of the relationships and the growth of the story was great.

Great coming of age story

Great coming of age story. Well written colorful characters. It puts right into the feeling of the old south and modern southern America.

Everything

A poetic and beautiful story of history, family, love and grief, all at the feet of monuments both big and small. Loved this.