When seventeen-year-old Avery moves to rural Georgia to live with her ailing grandmother, she encounters decade-old family secrets and a mystery surrounding the town's racist past. - (Baker & Taylor)

"Forced to move to Georgia to live with her hostile, terminally ill grandmother, 17-year-old Avery discovers that the racist history of this town is rooted in her family in ways she can’t even imagine, jeopardizing her newfound romance with her next-door neighbor, Simone. 75,000 first printing." - (Baker & Taylor)

"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, the award-winning debut novel from Jas Hammonds exploring the ways 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.

Jas Hammonds was raised in many cities and between the pages of many books. They have received support for their writing from Lambda Literary, Baldwin for the Arts, and the Highlights Foundation. They are also a grateful recipient of the MacDowell James Baldwin Fellowship. Their debut novel, We Deserve Monuments, won the 2023 Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent, among many other accolades. - (McMillan Palgrave)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Hammonds' absolutely stunning debut follows Avery, whose life is unexpectedly turned upside down when she learns that her estranged grandmother, Mama Letty, is dying. Her family packs up their lives in D.C. and moves to small-town Bardell, Georgia, to help Mama Letty find comfort in her final days. In Bardell, Avery makes new friends, repairs hurting relationships, and digs into the racist history that has had a lasting impact on her family. This thoughtful and well-crafted coming-of-age novel will grip the reader's attention from the beginning. Sympathetic Avery is fragile when she moves to Bardell—she doesn't know if her D.C. friends actually care about her, and she has just broken up with her first girlfriend—but her immediate friendships and her growing rapport with the standoffish Mama Letty allow her to grow and explore her wants and needs. With a focus on generational trauma and the often-complicated relationship between mothers and daughters, Hammonds excels in writing with vulnerability and capturing an authentic healing process. Bardell is a character in its own right, with a racist history that persists into the present day, as well as the nooks and crannies marginalized folks carved out for themselves where they could flourish. Written from a place of love and healing, Hammonds' definitive standout will stay with readers. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.