One of Our Kind

YA author (Instructions for Dancing) Yoon’s first adult novel examines themes of identity, privilege, and social justice. Attorney and social justice activist Jasmyn Williams and her husband Kingston have finally bought a house in Liberty, a wealthy Black community outside of Los Angeles. Jasmyn knows her husband and young son will be safer walking the streets in Liberty, where all the police officers are Black, than in their old working-class neighborhood. But almost immediately she feels that something is not quite right there. Jasmyn becomes aware of the differences between herself and her neighbors. While she embraces her natural hair and Black Power ideas, her neighbors seem set upon a conformity that makes Jasmyn increasingly uneasy. When Kingston begins spending time at the community’s secretive and heavily guarded wellness center, Jasmyn notices his growing apathy for the social justice causes the couple once championed. Feeling ever more troubled, Jasmyn turns to new friends Keisha and Charles, whose own spouses have also changed dramatically since moving to Liberty. As she works to uncover the truth, Jasmyn confronts the grim secrets beneath Liberty’s impeccable facade.