How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: High School

Interest Level: 7-12

Themes: choices, courage, community, crime/violence, having different points of view, relationships, urban life/experiences, black male life,

Sensitivity Issues: profanity, a couple of subtle sexual references

Related Texts: You Don’t Even Know Me by Sharon Flake

I was reluctantly eager to read this book because of it’s immediate application to all that is going on in urban cities across America, and because of my own experience with young black men dying too soon.   I wanted however, to read and find an engaging story,  but more importantly I wanted to find cultural authenticity.

I did find cultural authenticity. The depictions of  urban/black youth, generational perspectives, socio-economic perspectives, community relationships, complicated choices, loyalties and sometimes contradictions, were all authentic. And although at some points the narrative felt stereotypical and/or superficial, overall the story is a nuanced glance into seven sad, devastating days for a black community and black family.

This book will work well for instruction and/or in a classroom library. Many students will find his/her experiences validated and affirmed, but will also find stories that help build and bridge towards an empathy and understanding for different viewpoints/perspectives.

Each chapter is a character/community member who is touched by the death of Tariq Johnson in some way. We get to see inside the hearts and minds of many people who knew him, or knew of him, but painfully, as in real life, we never get to hear from the victim himself.  We see the victim through the eyes of many, as a hero, a thug, and a  threatening black male.  More importantly however we see Tariq, as a typical adolescent, a brother, a son, a friend,  and a human being.

Kekla Magoon writes a story with strong instructional possibility, even within the areas that might seem problematic, such as characters or situations that might seem stereotypical such as Tariq’s connection with a gang. It is typical for black male victims to be vilified and while I didn’t initially want to see this in this story, it provides an opportunity for critical discussion.  At some points the multiple characters/viewpoints seem to blur together, but in the midst of tragedies such as these where social media, images  and sound bytes converge, the feelings, viewpoints and truth do often meld together in a commotion of separate realities. 

Get this book. Read it for yourself.  Read it with your students.