Stacey Abrams

Voting rights activist and former gubernatorial candidate Abrams’ latest picture book sees her younger self taking a stand against injustice.

The delight of “TacoPizza Fryday”—a special lunch that the whole school voted on—turns sour for elementary schooler Stacey when she notices that some students are excluded because they can’t pay. Sympathetic school librarian Mr. McCormick explains that the “complicated” rules about who qualifies for free lunches leave some children out; show more he gently suggests that she and her friends address the school board rather than starting with a demonstration. Initially reluctant to speak in public, Stacey decides to lead a petition drive instead. She eventually nerves herself to stand up at the meeting to plead for a policy change, and when the board puts her off, she joins her friends in gently pressuring her principal every Friday with a list of kids who were left out that week. Thomas fills the illustrations with exaggeratedly wide eyes and open mouths; the crowds of diverse cheering, sign-waving students present rousing images of collective action and, at the end, collective triumph. “Imagine what else all their voices could change…together,” the author concludes pointedly, cogently adding in her closing note that sometimes “you feel like you’re fighting only for yourself, until you look around and realize that others are simply waiting for someone to go first.” Though the story is fictional, backmatter references real-life examples of Abrams learning to “speak up and take action.”

A blueprint for effective social action: simple, savvy, and tried and often true. (child hunger resources) (Picture book. 7-9)

-Kirkus Review show less

Before Stacey Abrams became today’s leading voting rights activist and the first Black woman in American history to become a gubernatorial candidate, she was a spelling bee hopeful.

Stacey is a kid who understands the power of language. Ushered from infancy into the world of books by her librarian mother, she is a devoted student of the dictionary and a diligent young linguist in her own right, squirreling away words in a dedicated notebook. Quiet and awkward, she finds refuge and clarity show more in reading and writing. When she is nominated by her second grade teacher, Mrs. Blakeslee, to participate in the school spelling bee, Stacey is thrilled. However there is one problem—she will be competing alongside Jake, the class bully, whom she has always shrunk from; but, “perhaps at this spelling bee she would be braver.” Readers follow Stacey as she painstakingly prepares, steps onto the competition stage—not once, but many times—and ultimately finds her voice with the loving support of her wise momma. The text is well turned, delivering both emotional resonance and compelling, albeit unromanticized, messages about the value of perseverance and the importance of speaking up for what is right. Thomas’ bold, vibrant digital illustrations use spotlights as a motif, subtly foreshadowing young Stacey’s future as a public speaker, and excel at depicting multiple scenes on the same page to create a sense of parallel action. Jake is White, and several illustrations include diverse representation.

This engaging, edifying, delightfully nerdy childhood retrospective from one of today’s inspirational leaders speaks volumes. (Picture book autobiography. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ x 1000
An Absolutely Unstoppable, Mind‑Bending, Pulse‑Pounding Masterpiece

When Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams doesn’t just earn five stars — it earns a galaxy. This book is the literary equivalent of standing in the middle of a courtroom while a thousand gavels slam down at once, each one shouting READ THIS NOW.

The moment you meet Avery Keene, you know you’re in the hands of a writer who understands tension, intelligence, and character depth at a show more level most thrillers only dream about. Abrams doesn’t just craft a plot — she engineers a labyrinth. Every chapter is a door you open thinking you’re prepared, only to find another twist waiting with a smug little “gotcha.”

This story is smart. Not “oh, that was clever” smart — I mean razor‑sharp, chess‑match, political‑legal‑biotech conspiracy brilliance that makes you sit up straighter and pay attention. Abrams weaves law, science, power, and danger together with such precision that you can practically hear the clock ticking in the background.

Avery is the kind of heroine you root for with your whole chest: brilliant but human, determined but vulnerable, and absolutely magnetic. Watching her navigate a Supreme Court justice’s secret puzzle while the world closes in is the kind of adrenaline you don’t recover from quickly.

And the pacing? Forget “page‑turner.” This is a page‑devourer. A “cancel your plans, ignore your responsibilities, someone else can cook dinner” kind of book. Every chapter ends with that delicious, infuriating cliffhanger energy that forces you to say, “Okay, ONE more,” until suddenly it’s 3 a.m. and you’re emotionally compromised.

Abrams proves she’s not just a powerhouse in politics — she’s a force of nature in fiction. Her writing is confident, cinematic, and wickedly intelligent. She respects the reader enough to challenge them, and the payoff is enormous.

If a thousand stars could form a constellation, When Justice Sleeps would be the brightest one in the sky — sharp, bold, and impossible to look away from.

If you want a thriller that grips your brain, squeezes your heart, and refuses to let go, this is it. show less

If i could give it six stars I would, so consider it done even though I can't. Characters you would love to meet, especially Avery Keene, the young law clerk who works for Supreme Court justice Howard Wynn who has suddenly fallen into a coma. Having named Avery, without her knowledge, his legal guardian with power of attorney, Avery finds herself in the middle of a planned merger of an American biotech company and an Indian genetics company who, it appears, may unleash an unbelievable new show more medical process into an unsuspecting world. The American biotech company and the Indian genetics company are relying on the assistance of a corrupt American president and Avery is the only one standing in their path. Stacey Abrams provides a full and believable world where a ugly conspiracy and Avery is left with the job and taking this conspiracy apart, one piece at a time. show less