One of Our Kind

A novel

By: Nicola Yoon

Narrated by: Nicole Lewis

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon’s daring new work of dystopian horror is a propulsive satire set in an all-Black gated community. For fans of The Sellout and Erasure, with a shocking ending you’ll never see coming, Jodi Picoult calls it "Brilliant, provocative, seminal....Your book club will be discussing this one for DAYS.”

Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the luxe wellness center at the top of the hill, which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world’s troubles.

Jasmyn’s only friends in the community are equally perplexed and frustrated by most residents' outlook. Then Jasmyn discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders. Frustration turns to dread as their loved ones start embracing the Liberty way of life.

Will the truth destroy her world in ways she never could have imagined?

A gripping thriller with wry, razor-sharp social commentary, One of Our Kind explores the ways in which freedom is complicated by the presumptions we make about ourselves and each other.

©2024 Nicola Yoon (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

One of Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of the Year

A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Most Anticipated Mystery/Thriller of the Spring

A Crime Reads’ Best Psychological Thriller of the Month

One of Parade's Best New Books of the Week

Named an "It Book" of June by Book Riot

“One of Our Kind [has]...a freight-train feel. It fits in with a recent wave of Black social horror that includes novels like The Other Black Girl and movies like Get Out....The warmth in Yoon’s writing, though, sets this book apart. The affection and care she has for all her characters and the reasons that have taken them to Liberty deepen the novel’s stakes and heighten its terror. Yoon also reminds us, through Jasmyn’s friendships and her relationship with her husband, King, of the richness and intimacy of Black culture, and underlines how much more we are than our trauma."—Kashana Cauley, The New York Times

"[An] intense, politically charged thriller set at a gated Black community in Los Angeles, where Jasmyn Williams and her husband, King, learn that the wounds of police brutality and racism affect different people in very different ways. Some just want to wrap themselves in luxury and spa treatments—if that’s what’s really going on at the community's cultish wellness palace. Truly chilling."—Marion Winik, Oprah Daily

"An unsettling social thriller that is Get Out meets Rosemary’s Baby. One of Our Kind...is set in Liberty, Calif., a fictional idyllic all-Black gated community outside of Los Angeles. Jasmyn, a public defender expecting her second child, moves there with her venture capitalist husband and their young son looking for a place where they can feel safe and supported. What she finds isn’t the Black utopia she dreamed of, but a town more interested in self-care than social justice issues. When Jasmyn starts digging into the community’s history, she uncovers a shocking secret about Liberty’s founders that threatens to tear her family apart."—Shannon Carlin, Time

Thought provoking

I couldn’t figure out where it was going and almost put it down. I trust the author so stayed the course. The end is shocking. I am left with so much to think about and so many emotions.

Oh Hell No

I was really hoping that Jasmine would get away and somehow save at least herself and her baby. As a Black woman this story made me so angry that I don’t know where to start. I have so many thoughts that I have to write a paper. This is not to say that I’m not a fan of Nicola’s work. This particular piece hits different especially with the history of this country and how Black people are constantly treated and mistreated.

A snack, not a meal

Stellar performance! That being said…the story left me wanting soooo much more. I kept waiting for a worthy climax to all of the clues and breadcrumbs left on the trail but was sent to bed hungry and dissatisfied.

A Psychotic, yet Unconventional Twist

Yoon’s novel is both cleverly written, yet tragic. It begins as a contemporary drama, then spins into a shocking horror story. What unfolds as a young African-American couple moving to an all-black neighborhood to escape the never-ending struggle against racism (even if you are educated and grossing over six figures a year) ends with a psychotic and horrific twist. I applaud Yoon for her raw truth told through the eyes of her main character, Jasmine, a black lawyer, who doesn’t hold back to what it really means to be black and to live in America. I was rooting for Jasmine, who wanted to stay pure to herself and her black culture and keep fighting the good fight, that is, keep making steps towards progress and change in a system plagued with deep-rooted racism. But, tragically, the story took a chilling twist towards the end and Jasmine, along with her unborn child and young son, were doomed. Metaphorically, Jasmine, and her fight for justice and inequality for people of color, was cut down. She was silenced. Hence, the tragedy of the novel. Just what exactly was Yoon implying by writing such an ending?—That people of color should remain silent about racial injustices, ignore our history, and assimilate into white society? As the old saying goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”? How tragic that African Americans and people of color need to be silenced in order to survive. With that being said, did I like Yoon’s novel? Parts of it. I loved the rawness of Jasmine’s character. I felt like the psychotic twist at the end wasn’t well developed and came about too quickly. She should have possibly stuck to contemporary fiction. Also, she should have expounded on the secondary characters a bit more. I give it a three out of five-star rating, mainly because of Jasmine, a realistic, raw, and well-developed character.

Love Makes Us Do Strange Things

This book was so amazing. Obviously the writing but also hearing it helped bring it to life. I could see myself in this book and so I felt extremely close to the main character. I love how the author weaved in the real life experiences of black women as they move through the world as moms, wives and friends. I still couldn’t have expected the ending and it fit so well. It’s like sci-fi meets romance.

Timely.

I could not put it down. I heard Nicola speak on Bainbridge Is WA
Fantastic

Okay book, bad editing

I had to fight my way through the first 10 chapters because nothing happened! All of the information in the first ten chapters could have been condensed into the first 4 chapters. I HATE long expositions. The book starts at chapter 11. I believe Ms. Yoon sent the book to editors who said, "It's not long enough. Add a several more chapters at the beginning." Extremely annoying!
I have been black all of my life and have never heard people use this many swear words. Again, Ms. Yoon sent this book to white editors who said, "You need to have your characters curse a lot more or no one will believe they're really black."

I'm sorry but I laughed at the ending. Predictable and puerile. Really!!! Come on!!! I did like the reasons that King gave for doing what they did.

Ms. Yoon did very well at building suspense starting at chapter 11 although it was a bit predictable at times.

Edit the book one more time. Take out 6 of the first 10 chapters. Delete several of the gratuitous, unnecessary swear words and change the denouement.

I believe Ms. Yoon will be an excellent writer someday and this book was a good start. Good luck.

Get Out meets Undercover Brother

Get Out meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Undercover Brother. Just doing too much. And blackness is the problem?! Had great potential. Twist and end but very predictable.

Weird yet interesting story

The Stepford Wives meets Black Lives Matter in this creepy-fun story. The story features a planned community for African American home buyers. It offers a lifestyle of no stress and no aggression, neither micro- nor macro- for community members. Too good to be true? Oh yes it is.

Wait til the end

It takes a while to get to the good part. It was worth the long wait.