Often when people of color are asked how exactly racism works, a one-sentence answer isn't
enough for the complexity, history, and future of the United States’ racism. However, Coates’
book, Between the World and Me, offers an insight into racism that I believe every American
should have exposure to. Coates writes this book to his son, Samori, to explain the vulnerability
of his black body in a country ignorant of a racist reality. This novel covers topics from slavery,
and modern-day police brutality, to the arbitrary social construct of race. This novel allowed me
to view the country I live in from an entirely new perspective because although many of us may
think racism is an aspect of America that is constantly improving, it’s inherently present in
almost every part of American life, society, and structure. Coates explores the implications,
counter-arguments, and faultiness within the American Dream. It is important to note that this
book can get confusing at times (as Coates dives metaphorically into the intangible aspects of
race), and I found annotating and referring to Lit Charts along the way quite helpful. This wasn’t
a light read, but rather a book that holds deep meaning and is open to several interpretations by
the reader (I say this coming from a high school student). I was intrigued throughout the entire
book, but I would have appreciated it if Coates had written a large amount of text in a simplified
way as some concepts are quite difficult to grasp with his style and diction.