Things are going to happen outside of your control but what you know of these things can change how it affects you. Alex pays with the sacrifice of his relationships with those closest to him and the anxiety that comes with not wanting to know and not being able to control it and always being bombarded with visions of the future. He is helpless, and his knowledge hints at the theme of the title. It quickly becomes a burden when he realizes that even with knowing, he can’t change the future. The limitations of Alex’s ability don’t bring the benefits that you would assume comes with being able to know what’s coming next. Being Black in America means being constantly reminded of the darkness you come from, without knowing details about the darkness you come from.” ( The Cost of Knowing, Brittney Morris) “I’ve always known in the back of my mind that there’s a slew of undocumented crimes against my family that will never see justice. Some of Morris’s choices of what is discussed in the book were a bit more mature than what I’m accustomed to reading in a YA novel, but I think her choice works because the entire theme of the book is how Black youth is shortened because they are made aware of adult situations before one might assume. The book addresses anxiety, mental wellness, toxic masculinity, intergenerational trauma, and advocates communicating big feels. Since this book is for crowds 12 and older, the trauma was not explicit. Morris calls the book a “love letter to all the Black men who had to grow up too early.” In the afterword, Morris says that she started out to write a book about Black boy joy but didn’t feel it could be authentic without addressing the issues that affect these children as they journey to manhood. The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris is a reflection for my generation. These books told fictional accounts of lives akin to the stories my grandparents and great grandparents told me of their lives. Taylor or The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (both of which I read in my youth). I guess that is my cost of knowing.Īfter reading this book I would put it in the same category as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. There is a sense of dread knowing that a young Black boy was going to die (even if it’s a fictional character). He is left helpless to watch manifest his traumas and fears.įull disclosure: at first, I was hesitant to read the book The Cost of Knowing because with everything going on I was reluctant to voluntarily put myself or subject myself to Black trauma. He can see the future, but no matter what he does he is unable to alter it, no matter how hard or what he tries. They say that knowledge is power, but what happens if you have knowledge and no power? Then knowledge can be considered a curse.
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