GONE WOLF

A 12-year-old Black girl deals with fear, grief, pain, and suffering caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and America’s history of enslavement and racist violence.

It’s the year 2111, and Inmate Eleven is undergoing a test. She must decide which is better: the blond, blue-eyed, light-skinned doll or the doll with blue skin and hair like her own. Inmate Eleven’s world is cruel and fractured: As a Blue, she’s separated from the pale-skinned Clones and has been isolated in a cell her whole life. Her only source of comfort is her dog, Ira; they both long for escape. “Bible Boot” flash cards fill in the backstory through references to an alternate but recognizable history: a 2016 election, xenophobia, a wall, a worldwide virus, and vaccines. Blues are regarded as inferior, their bodies exploited to prolong the lives of Clones; they are actually Black Americans whose stolen freedom has caused them to turn blue with sadness. Back in 2022, Imogen is trapped by fear and grief from racist violence and devastating pandemic losses. She finds relief and healing through sharing her stories and builds relationships with Black role models like her therapist and her mentor from the Big Sister program. Textbook pages at the ends of chapters share true Black history. McBride’s multidimensional genius shines through, artfully exposing the reality that Black Americans have lived lifetimes of dystopias. She scrupulously guides the complicated storyline and hard histories with context, definitions, and word choices.

Raw, incisive, and authentic.