I loved the beautiful relationship that developed between the two boys. I also enjoyed the underlying theme of the necessity of working through our traumatic experiences. Additionally, there was the compelling theme of Black ancestral pride in which the legacy of Alex’s ability is explained through the lens of familial history and heritage. The author illustrates nicely how people can be racist without believing they’re racist and addresses several themes such as the effects of trauma, systemic racism, intergenerational trauma, intimacy, grief, fear, guilt, toxic masculinity, mental health, Black history, ignorance, privilege, power, and more. We see their continuous fear and anxiety of being targeted as criminals because of the color of their skin. In fact, the author dedicates the book: “To all the Black boys who had to grow up too early.”Īs Alex attempts to protect his brother, we witness how the boys have to deal with the realities of racism, stereotypes, and constant microaggressions, especially given that they live in a primarily white neighborhood. Though this is the story of two brothers, at its core, the book is also about what it means to be a young Black man today. So now, Alex is determined to be the best brother possible during Isaiah’s remaining days and to do everything in his power to ensure that his days are safe and happy.

Alex knows that the events of his visions cannot be prevented - what he sees has always come to pass. For instance, it’s caused conflict between him and his girlfriend, who isn’t aware of Alex’s “gift” and doesn’t understand why Alex won’t hold her hand.īut one day, his world turns completely upside down when, after picking up an old family photo, he sees the funeral of his little brother, Isaiah. This burdensome ability also makes it challenging for Alex to maintain relationships because since he foresaw his friend’s death, he’s generally avoided touching the people he cares about, which isn’t always easy to accomplish and has led to additional complications for Alex. He also saw his childhood best friend’s death a few years prior, so since then, he lives in pretty much a constant state of anxiety surrounding his gift. If he touches his car, he sees it wrecked and underwater a few years from now. For instance, if he touches an ice cream scoop at work, he sees himself using it to scoop ice cream a few minutes later. Alex isn’t quite like other kids because ever since the accident, he has the gift of psychometry – that is to say, he can see the future whenever he touches an object or a person. The Cost of Knowing is a young adult novel that follows sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus, a black teen, and his twelve-year-old little brother Isaiah whose parents were killed in a car accident a few years prior.

The cost of knowing by brittney morris