Much like her debut novel, SLAY, Brittney Morris’s new novel The Cost of Knowing is a work of young adult fiction which explores the experience of being a young Black person in the United States today. This sophomore effort, however, centers on a male rather than a female protagonist and adds a dimension of magic to create a captivating and moving reading experience.
At the age of 16, Alex Rufus has been through enough loss for a lifetime. Years ago his parents were killed in a car accident, leaving Alex and his younger brother, Isaiah, to be raised by their Aunt Mackie in a neighbourhood outside of Chicago. His best friend Shaun was then taken from him a few years later in another accident. There was one thing different with this accident though… Alex saw it coming. You see, following the death of his parents, Alex found himself with the ability to see the future through the objects — and even people — he touches. For example, when he slips his phone out of his pocket, he sees a flash of himself unlocking the phone right before he takes this action. When he touches something with more frequency, like the steering wheel of his car, he sees further down the road, years ahead to when the car will be totalled.
Alex does his best to maintain a normal life despite the constant barrage of future images he must withstand. He goes to school and has plans to attend college, he works in an ice cream shop and does yard work for his neighbours. His relationship with Isaiah has grown strained over the years, but he has a girlfriend he cares deeply about: Talia, Shaun’s younger sister. Alex is managing, more or less, until one day he finds an old family photo which triggers images of his brother’s impending death. In mere moments, the world is turned upside down as Alex battles internally over what to do. Can he change the future, even though he has never been able to before? And, if not, is there enough time left to repair the rift in his relationship with Isaiah? Can he face the reality of the situation and redeem himself from the failure he feels following Shaun’s death? Perhaps find a way to make something good come from this horrific situation?
A great part of the storytelling in The Cost of Knowing hinges on the concept of time: learning to process and accept one’s past, remain present in the current moment, and cope with being able to see the future. Morris draws a striking parallel between the anxiety Alex feels due to his magical abilities and the undue burden he faces as a young Black man in the U.S. Alex’s difficulty focusing on the present while attempting to ward off visions of the future is not so different from the constant awareness he must have of what could happen to him out in the world based solely upon the colour of his skin. With his ability to see the future in everything he touches, Alex lost the privilege of being a child, innocent and free, at a young age; he holds a weight much heavier than any sixteen year old should. This burden also reflects the mental weight of living in the wake of hundreds of years of discrimination and racism; the generational trauma and very real physical consequences faced by young Black men in America still to this day.
Because of the prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. over the past year, there will likely be a temptation for readers and reviewers to frame this book as “timely.” But let’s be clear, as Morris is in this novel: racism is not a new topic. The heightened risk of being killed — by a member of law enforcement, a neighbour, a stranger — is not a new fear. These things have been going on, in one form or another, for centuries.
The Cost of Knowing does present a fresh take, however, crossing genres to weave together a coming of age story with prescient social issues, blending the fantastical element of future-sight with a commentary on racism and power in the U.S. today. Morris’s writing is crisp and clear, her characters and storyline undeniably memorable. Although it is tagged as a young adult novel, readers of all ages will surely find themselves compelled by the story of Alex and Isaiah.
The Cost of Knowing is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 6th 2021. Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing me with an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Dear Martin meets They Both Die at the End in this gripping, evocative novel about a Black teen who has the power to see into the future, whose life turns upside down when he foresees his younger brother’s imminent death, from the acclaimed author of SLAY.
Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah. But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short.
It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. When he touches a scoop, he has a vision of him using it to scoop ice cream. When he touches his car, he sees it years from now, totaled and underwater. When he touches Talia, he sees them at the precipice of breaking up, and that terrifies him. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life.
And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.
With Alex now in a race against time, death, and circumstances, he and Isaiah must grapple with their past, their future, and what it means to be a young Black man in America in the present.
