When You Look Like Us
by Pamela N. Harris
read by Preston Butler III
Quill Tree Books, 2021. 8 hours, 54 minutes.
Review written March 22, 2022, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
2022 Odyssey Award Winner for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Young Adults
This audiobook takes the perspective of Jay Murphy, a young Black teen who is tired of covering for his sister. When he gets a call from her late at night, he thinks she’s been sampling the wares of her drug dealer boyfriend and hangs up on her. He covers for her with their grandma in the morning, but then she doesn’t turn up that day or the day after that.
When Jay finally goes to the police, they seem to think a Black teen brought whatever trouble she got into on herself. So Jay’s going to have to track her down himself. He gets some help from the pastor’s daughter — the one he used to tolerate because his grandma made him teach little kids’ Sunday school with her. But when lead after lead turns into a dead end, Jay is afraid his sister has met her end.
And why do people assume he’s trouble just because of how he looks?
This mystery will pull at your heart while drawing you into Jay’s world. Since it’s an Odyssey winner, I wasn’t surprised that the narrator did an excellent job bringing the book to life.
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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