Jay Coles

A young man searches for answers after the death of his brother at the hands of police in this striking debut novel, for readers of The Hate U Give. When Marvin Johnson's twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin decides to tag along to keep an eye on his brother. But what starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid. The next day, Tyler has gone missing, and it's up to Marvin to find him. But when Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer. Terrified as his mother unravels and mourning a brother who is now a hashtag, Marvin must learn what justice and freedom really mean. Tyler Johnson Was Here is a powerful and moving portrait of youth and family that speaks to the serious issues of today--from gun control to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Tyler Johnson Was Here

Sarah Sammis

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles is a debut novel based on true events in the author's life (per the description). Tyler is the older brother of a set of twins and his story is told by his younger (by three minutes) brother, Marvin.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

Ryan 

let me just say that jay coles went off on some parts of the book about black lives matter. in particular, i’m talking about the all lives matter and i was like, “PREACH!” i don’t get why not many people are reading this right now. i really fly through this book (and it’s short too so you’re able to read this in no time) and the whole topic about police brutality, grief, brotherhood, and being black in america was handled very well respectively. please, DONT sleep on this book.

alexandra

3.75/5 –
Tyler Johnson was Here is important and enraging. i've read other books based on police brutality and the BLM movement, but this is probably one of my favorite. i felt like we actually got to know who Tyler was before he was murdered, as opposed to "MC's friend/cousin/etc." because of that, i felt a much stronger connection and it was that much more painful. when Marvin (Tyler's brother) grieves for Tyler, i'm grieving with him; when Marvin is furious about the police and judge, i'm infuriated with him.

this is more a problem on my end, but i couldn't enjoy it in one sitting, which made the ~reading experience~ mediocre. i read it over a span of a few weeks and that left this weird sort of detachment even though i felt connected to the characters. the ending (in Marvin's life, not in relation to Tyler) also felt rushed and, at times, unrealistic. Marvin was having trouble applying to colleges and his whole process with that felt out of touch. just little things like how his acceptance letter was received via snail mail and how he wrote up his application super late, etc etc etc. 

in terms of the politics and such, this was SO GREAT. it talks about black culture, white racism, police brutality, and so much more. i loved all the things Jay Coles is advocating for and all the things he's trying to share via storytelling. buuuuut, i felt like the way he wrote it or the way he shared it could've been a tiny bit better. in some ways, this story felt like an almost-done draft and just needed that last punch.

but overall, i really enjoyed this novel. it's super relevant to the current state of our world. as a person who rarely voices her opinion on politics, TJWH made me want to set up a protest and go all out. however, at times, it felt flat and i couldn't REALLY get into it.

Alexa M

"All i am left thinking is: What lesson did i have to be taught?
Not to be a concerned individual?
Not to care about someone else's innocent life, the boy lying unconscious across from me?
Not to care about my own life?
Not to be a member of my own race?"

3.5 rounded up!
i really enjoyed this! obviously loved the message and think this is really important. but unfortunately i felt this lacked a bit of something for me. this book was very short and i think the way the story was told i found it hard to fully connect with the MC. i think this would be perfect for younger readers!

brianna

"People don't fucking know that black folks were never included in the All. All-American means white. All-inclusive means white. All lives means white lives. It's bullshit. White folks always make it about them and I'm pissed off that they're trying to mask their hatred with these tags."
 

4.5 stars

The best I can do to describe this book is to say it's The Hate U Give meets On My Block. Tyler Johnson was here was one of the most intense, heartbreaking, powerful books I've read in ages and no synopsis will do it justice. My best suggestion is to go into it blinding if you do plan on picking it up since the summaries all spoil what happens more than halfway through the book. Trigger warnings for police brutality, racism, and extreme violence. I can't recommend this one enough.

Alexa Jade

Actual rating: 3.75 stars. What a heartbreakingly beautiful book. The last line of this book really made my heart squeeze. 

I loved being able to see and learn about Tyler before his death. I loved how we can feel Marvin’s pain throughout the book even though it breaks my heart. I love how Tyler expresses his thoughts and feelings with his friends. So many good things about this book. 


The reason for the 3.75 stars is I had an issue with the pacing. At times this was a strong 5 star read but then at other times it felt like the story was being rushed through and thrown together sloppily. It kind of took me out of the story a bit. :/

If I could rate the cover on its own then 5/5 stars. This is one of my favorite covers of all time.

Samantha Seeman

After the popularity of The Hate U Give (by Angie Thomas) last year, more and more people having been seeking out similar stories, and I am not an exception. Like THUG, Tyler Johnson is about a black family who is dealing with the death of a child due to police brutality. This is a hot button topic at the moment in the US and many authors have stepped up to write about their experiences and thoughts on the subject. I personally have now read at least four books with similar subject matter, and it still haunts and shocks me every time. These are issues that are sadly customary for this community, and need to be addressed. Unfortunately, TJWH did not quite pack the same punch that THUG did, though. It actually made me feel tense throughout the first half of the book because I knew that the brother gets shot, but that scene doesn’t happen for quite a while. If you liked THUG or books featuring similar content, this is definitely worth reading. It was quick- I read it in about 2 days.

I wanted to like this more. The story was good, it was an emotional piece looking at the characters more than the plot itself, but I think the plot was sacrificed for the sake of moving the book along at a faster pace. 

It's a quick read. I finished the majority of it in about 3-4 hours, give or take. It has a very segmented and skeleton way of getting the plot across, usually reliant on a character telling you that something happened in clipped sentences that sometimes didn't make clear enough who was speaking.

For a character centric piece, the characters were pretty flat. I felt like the side characters were more like NPC's in a video game than people speaking to one another. Marvin was also stunted I his development, even with a romance thrown into part of the story.

Three stars is my average rating. The story itself was compelling and I did not want to out it down for long. I got teary eyed reading it, and I appreciated the perspective that I've never encountered in real life. If you're looking for a book depicting a police shooting from the perspective of tertiary victims, it's definitely a book to read. I think that message is the main point of the novel.

I forgot to add; another drawback for me was the interactions with the Principal and an MIT representative. I'm not sure if this is just a lack of personal knowledge on my part, but it seems like there was a weirdly specific amount of interest in Marvin. I don't recall ever having a principal speak with me specifically about my college plans. Heck, I never had any real conversations with my principal.

TW/CW: police brutality, racial discrimination and slurs

Go pick up this book, go pick up the audio. This story is heart-breaking but real. Coles will take you on a rollercoaster ride that feels personal.

Full review to come (I would love to link in some #ownvoices reviews, so give me a yell if you know of a review that should be featured!)

*Just a quick note, I mentioned while reading this that it was narrated by Jay Coles himself. Turns out I am completely wack. The audio is narrated by JaQwan J. Kelly who does a fantastic job. Massive apologies for my mistake (apparently I can't tell J- words apart)

b.andherbooks

A tense and emotional first-person YA novel about a Black teen who's twin brother goes missing and is later found dead after the police bust up a party they were both attending. 

Marvin Johnson's experiences with police brutality, injustice, and trauma are difficult but important to read and will hit home, especially with teen readers. Readers will either be extremely frustrated with some of the dangling plot points that are never answered and left to the imagination or will delight in coming up with their own endings for Marvin, his mom, his father, and his friends.

My favorite parts of the book were Marvin's father's letters.

Kate

moving, important and heartbreakingly devastating.

TW: racism, police brutality.

Tyler Johnson Was Here

Reviews