How It Went Down
Nominated by: Maria Gianferrari
Finalist blurb: When a sixteen-year-old black boy is shot and killed in broad daylight by a white man in front of multiple witnesses, it's hard to understand how there could be any questions about what happened. Through a chorus of diverse, distinct voices that range in age, perspective, and experience, Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down shows exactly how confusing the truth can be?that perception is entirely affected by our understanding of the world around us, and that oftentimes, we only see what we expect to see. Teenagers see racialized violence in real life and on the news every single day, and this book works towards trying to understand it with honesty and elegance, in a way that doesn't point fingers, provide platitudes or offer up easy answers.
— Leila Roy, Bookshelves of Doom