"Extraordinary...shines a vivid light onto underappreciated aspects of our history through the life of a gay Black teenager...The book's greatest charm lies in the sensitivity and subtlety of its narrative." --The New York Times Book Review
"This book is a truly unique queer coming-of-age novel."
--Buzzfeed "In this debut novel, a queer young Black man leaves behind his comfortable family life in Indianapolis and heads to New York in the 1980s, which provides
a thrilling, occasionally enraging, political and societal backdrop for his coming-of-age." --
The New York Times "
My Government Means to Kill Me is
an action-packed, entertaining inside look at the life of a young political rebel. Written with unflinching tenderness, Newson gives us an honest and compelling portrait of a gay Black man coming of age."
--Matthew A. Cherry, Academy Award-winning director of
Hair Love "Hilarious, heartbreaking, and
sexy as all get out."
--Ayelet Waldman, author of
Love and Treasure "
Fresh, vibrant and utterly unapologetic. Rasheed Newson has written an unforgettable, take-no-prisoners novel alive with humor and full of urgency. Newson's Trey and his determination to live life on his own terms, even in the face of death all around him, brings into three dimension an era of New York Queer life that, too often, has been flattened and whitewashed by history."
--Xochitl Gonzalez, author of
New York Times bestseller
Olga Dies Dreaming "
Delightful and fast-paced, a fascinating narrative of queer activism during the AIDS epidemic."
--Kirkus "Newson's attention to historical details gives
this moving novel a sense of urgency and immediacy."
--Book Riot "An episodic narrative about learning to navigate the world,
this novel is both hilarious and angry."
--The Boston Globe "A powerful story about Trey, a young, gay, Black man in 1980s New York City as he comes of age personally and politically. Newson's writing is crisp and clear, witty and engrossing--
the kind of prose that pulls you in so quickly you'll miss your subway stop."
--Lit Hub
"Newson's debut is
an audacious, vibrant Ragtime-esque ride through the sordid sanctuary of AIDS-era New York, a book about sex and activism and the power we have to liberate ourselves."
--Electric Literature "This book should charm its way onto lots of best books of the year lists."
--Philadelphia Inquirer "
A fast-moving and riveting examination of what it means to build a life in the middle of a deadly epidemic."
--Arlington Magazine "
My Government Means to Kill Me is not only
a brilliant historical novel of those times, it is a bold statement of how someone who could have been an outcast doesn't settle for being left out."
--Daily Kos "From its use of footnotes to the historical figures that appear, the Bel Air co-showrunner's historical fiction debut
delivers education and fun in equal measure."
--Entertainment Weekly "Equal parts humor and heartbreak, masterfully fictionalizing real details to produce
a deeply engaging but also heavily researched Bildungsroman."
--them "
Fiction that matters and is likely to endure."
--Bay Area Reporter "
Crackling...an expertly-paced read."
--Electric Literature "Proof that writers can revere and play with history at the same time...
Newson's prose is engaging and entertaining, and he captures the dynamics of found families."
--BookPage 
