"When Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California, they hope 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 fit in. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on spa treatments and keeping up appearances. Jasmyn's only friends in the community are equally perplexed and frustrated by Liberty's outlook, a frustration that turns to concern when their loved ones start embracing the Liberty way of life.As Jasmyn learns more about Liberty and its founders, she discovers a terrible secret that threatens to destroy her world in ways she could never have imagined"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Moving their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California, hope to find a community of like-minded people, Jasmyn, perplexed and frustrated by most residents’ outlook, discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders and must save her loved ones from embracing the Liberty way of life. - (Baker & Taylor)

#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. - (Random House, Inc.)

NICOLA YOON is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Instructions for Dancing; Everything, Everything; and The Sun Is Also a Star, and is a coauthor of Blackout. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Award recipient, a Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe New Talent Award winner and the first Black woman to hit #1 on the New York Times Young Adult best-seller list. Two of her novels have been made into major motion pictures. She’s also the copublisher of Joy Revolution, a Random House young adult imprint dedicated to love stories starring people of color. She grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn, New York, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the novelist David Yoon, and their daughter. - (Random House, Inc.)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Jasmyn is a deeply committed Los Angeles legal defender. She and her husband, Kingston, a former history teacher turned corporate businessman, are raising one son with a second on the way, when, at King's urging, they move to Liberty, a small, wealthy, all-Black suburb touted as a Black utopia. Although she's skeptical about this enclave of luxury, Jasmyn is hopeful that it will be a nurturing and safe environment for their sons as white cops continue to kill Black people with impunity in the city. But their stylish neighbors seem indifferent to racial violence and social injustice. And why does everyone, including King, spend so much time at the elaborate Wellness Center? In her first novel for adults, popular YA novelist Yoon steadily builds suspense and provocation in this chilling, subtly speculative tale via perfectly selected details and unnerving conversations as Jasmyn's growing concerns and inquisitiveness turn increasingly risky. In the mode of Percival Everett, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, and Rion Amilcar Scott, Yoon presents a riveting tale spiked with surprises, laced with compassion, and designed for discussion as it raises unsettling questions about class, Blackness, parenthood, social responsibility, justice, and the hidden repercussions of deep, centuries-spanning trauma. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

Best-selling and award-winning YA author Yoon makes her adult debut with this thought-provoking story about a family who moves to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, CA, where they hope to find a like-minded community. But the Liberty way of life isn't what Jasmyn expects, and her discovery of a secret threatens her world. Prepub Alert. Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Library Journal Reviews

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. VERDICT At times unsettling, Yoon's narrative is a thought-provoking exploration of race and identity in modern society.—Lucinda Ward