"An absolute must read." —Buzzfeed
"A gripping portrayal of the South's inherent racism and a love story for queer Black girls." —Teen Vogue
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.
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2022
Genre: Young Adult Romance
"A gripping portrayal of the South's inherent racism and a love story for queer Black girls." —Teen Vogue
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.
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2022
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Praise for this book
"We Deserve Monuments is an exquisite story about the value of family, the danger of long-held secrets, and the beauty of first love. I can't wait to read everything Jas Hammonds writes." - Brandy Colbert
"A breathtaking debut that explores love and family in a tender, honest way, with beautiful writing and a mystery that grabs you to the end." - Kim Johnson
"We Deserve Monuments is at once tender and riveting, drawing you in with its sweetness before sinking in its teeth and never letting go. Hammonds has crafted a profound story about family, history, and the burden of secrets, leaving no stone unturned or truth unexamined in this sincere debut." - Kyrie McCauley
"We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds is a beautifully poignant novel. Readers will be drawn into Avery's story as she discovers long-hidden truths about her family and navigates young love, ultimately finding herself in the process. This was an amazing read!" - Maika Moulite
"This is a powerful, quaking meditation on generational trauma that effortlessly blends the South's honeyed sunshine with its rotten secrets. Hammonds has written a blazing debut." - Kelly Quindlen
"We Deserve Monuments is an absolutely beautiful achievement. I felt this book in my heart, in my very marrow itself." - Christina Hammonds Reed
"A breathtaking debut that explores love and family in a tender, honest way, with beautiful writing and a mystery that grabs you to the end." - Kim Johnson
"We Deserve Monuments is at once tender and riveting, drawing you in with its sweetness before sinking in its teeth and never letting go. Hammonds has crafted a profound story about family, history, and the burden of secrets, leaving no stone unturned or truth unexamined in this sincere debut." - Kyrie McCauley
"We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds is a beautifully poignant novel. Readers will be drawn into Avery's story as she discovers long-hidden truths about her family and navigates young love, ultimately finding herself in the process. This was an amazing read!" - Maika Moulite
"This is a powerful, quaking meditation on generational trauma that effortlessly blends the South's honeyed sunshine with its rotten secrets. Hammonds has written a blazing debut." - Kelly Quindlen
"We Deserve Monuments is an absolutely beautiful achievement. I felt this book in my heart, in my very marrow itself." - Christina Hammonds Reed
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