I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Reviewed by Lori
Title: I'm Not Dying with You Tonight

Co-Authora: Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 200829

Description:  Told from two viewpoints, Atlanta high school seniors Lena and Campbell, one black, one white, must rely on each other to survive after a football rivalry escalates into a riot.

Rubric Rating: Level 1 - Leave it

Why I Read It:  Listened to the Audiobook as it was recommended by my local library

Notes: Lena and Campbell are different, very different but for now they're stuck together.  Lena is a popular girl in school with amazing fashion sense and what you would think is a very good head on her shoulders... except when it comes to her boyfriend Black in whom she can see no wrong.  Campbell is the new girl in school.  Her mother has moved away and she's been forced to move in with her father, who other than dropping her off at school doesn't make much of appearance.  Campbell has no connections, whereas Lena has many but doesn't use them effectively.  When a riot at school spills out into the streets, Lena and Campbell must work together to get home but first they need to trust one another if they want to make it out alive.  I liked the set up of this novel, taking the same circumstances and showing them from the girls alternating perspectives.  There are big talking points about racism and bias,  not all black people are criminals, and not all white people are rich.  But I feel like the story plays more into the stereotypes than against them.  I found the plot disjointed and the girls pass up opportunities that should have been taken.  Lena could have called her grandfather or stuck with her family for help, instead she relies on an unreliable boyfriend.   Campbell is all alone but waits until she is finally safe to speak up and puts herself in jeopardy again.  I found the end of the novel jarring in an 'is that it?' sort of way.   

Recommended Readers:  High School Academic and/or Applied

Themes: Race, Riots, Bias, Crime,  Friendship of Circumstance, Prejudice, Protests, Family, 

Cross-Genre Links: 
News Media: Race and Bias
Music: A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
Music: This is America by Childish Gambino


Inquiries and Activities:

  • Lena and Campbell form a bond because of the situation they are in.  Do you think they are friends?  Do you think they will remain friends now the crisis is over?  
  • How does each of the girls' bias and prejudice show itself in the novel?
  • Do you think there will ever be a time when race won't be an issue?
  • Lena and Campbell are connected because they are in the same place at the same time.  How else are they connected?  
  • What do you think about Lena's relationship with her boyfriend Black?  Would you consider it to be an abusive relationship?  Why or why not?  
  • Discuss Lena and Campbell's family life.  What is it like? 
  • Imagine you are Lena or Campbell.  Write the next chapter of the novel to sum up your experience. 

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