All You Have to Do

Ages 12 And Up, Grades 7 And Up

Now in paperback, a powerful, thought-provoking, and heartfelt look at what it takes (and takes and takes) for two Black students to succeed in prestigious academic institutions in America.

In All You Have to Do, two young Black men attend prestigious schools nearly thirty years apart, yet both navigate similar forms of insidious racism.

In April 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, Kevin joins a protest that shuts down his Ivy League campus . . .

In September 1995, amid controversy over the Million Man March, Gibran challenges the “See No Color” hypocrisy of his prestigious New England prep school . . .

As the two students, whose lives overlap in powerful ways, risk losing the opportunities their parents worked hard to provide, they move closer to discovering who they want to be instead of accepting as fact who society and family tell them they are.

About the Author

Autumn Allen teaches literature and writing workshops for young people and edits picture books as a senior editor at Barefoot Books. She teaches children’s literature at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds graduate degrees in education, children's literature, and writing for children from Harvard University and Simmons University. All You Have to Do is her debut novel. Autumn grew up in Boston and lives in Massachusetts with her family. Visit her website at AutumnAllenBooks.com.

Author Residence: Boston, MA

Author Hometown: Boston, MA