I'm Not Dying With You Tonight

The novel follows two Atlanta high school seniors, one Black and one white, who barely know each other but must rely on one another to survive a night when a football game fight spirals into a riot on Seventh Avenue and surrounding neighborhoods.

Lena James is a stylish, outgoing Black senior at McPherson High School who lives with her grandfather, Pops, and is dating Black, a 20-year-old aspiring music producer whose nickname comes from his dark complexion. Before the game, Lena's best friend, LaShunda, criticizes Black's friends for treating her rudely, and the two part on tense terms. Lena plans to watch the halftime show and meet Black afterward.

Campbell Carlson is a white senior who transferred to McPherson from Haverford, Pennsylvania, after her mother took a job in Venezuela and left Campbell with her father for her final year of school. Campbell's father owns Carlson's Hardware on Seventh Avenue and leaves for his fishing cabin for the weekend after her English teacher, Ms. Marino, offers to drive Campbell home. Campbell volunteers at the concession stand but is abandoned by her co-workers. Lena briefly defends Campbell against a rude customer, though they do not interact further.

The game carries pre-existing tension: Jonesville's football players had recently worn blackface at a Halloween party. In the concession line, a Jonesville fan uses a racial slur against a Black student, igniting a fistfight that spreads into a massive brawl. School resource officers arrive, but their aggressive tactics only inflame the crowd. Campbell feels relief at the sight of the police; Lena says things are about to get worse. Gunshots ring out, and a walkie-talkie broadcasts that an officer is down. Lena pulls Campbell to the ground. Her co-worker Caleb retrieves marijuana he had stored in a cabinet and flees, leaving the girls alone.

Lena's phone dies mid-call with Black. Campbell reveals she left her phone in Ms. Marino's portable classroom, so Lena insists they leave. She calls Campbell "Becky" until Campbell corrects her. They fight through the crowd to the classroom and retrieve the phone. Lena calls Black, who is dismissive of her fear and refuses to pick her up, saying he is at a tattoo parlor on Seventh Avenue. He offers to have his friend Big Baby drive her home if she can get there herself. Campbell has no one to call, so Lena proposes they walk together, and Campbell reluctantly agrees.

The football field is now swarming with police, emergency vehicles, and helicopters. Lena refuses to cross the parking lot, explaining that officers see Campbell as harmless but see Lena as a threat. A passerby tells them Central Avenue is blockaded; the only route out is First Avenue, through Tillman Park, a neighborhood Campbell's father warned her to avoid. With no alternative, they take that route.

In Tillman Park, a man follows them demanding money and grabs Lena's arm. Campbell screams, startling him into releasing his grip, and they sprint away. Lena is impressed by Campbell's speed and learns she was a sprinter cut from McPherson's track team. They begin to bond, but an argument erupts when Campbell uses the word "ghetto" and suggests people's problems stem from poor choices. Lena explodes, describing the everyday racism she endures. Campbell falls silent and trails behind Lena as they exit Tillman Park into Grant Village.

They encounter Marcus, Lena's play cousin, a term for someone not related by blood but treated as family. Marcus is protective of Lena and distrustful of Black, having previously fought him at a block party. He is on probation for a prior marijuana charge. His friend Malik reports unrest on Seventh Avenue, with counter-protesters gathering. Marcus insists on accompanying them. Along the way, a neighborhood elder named Ms. Johnson warns that an officer was shot at the school and 19 people were hurt.

Seventh Avenue is packed with protesters, bar patrons, and antagonistic counter-protesters. A silver-gray SUV swerves and strikes a woman. The crowd drags the driver out, and a full-scale riot erupts. Marcus is separated from the girls. They push through the violence and take shelter in Seventh Avenue Sundries, a store owned by Mr. Wells, whose family Campbell knows through her father. Nicky, Mr. Wells's grandson, arrives with supplies taken from Campbell's father's store. Campbell accuses him of stealing, and when Nicky shoves Campbell, Lena defends her with a broken bottle. Mr. Wells intervenes.

Realizing her father's store is unprotected, Campbell insists on checking on it. Lena agrees, planning to stop at the tattoo parlor to find Black. They fight their way south through smoke and debris, and Lena cuts her foot on broken glass. The tattoo parlor is boarded up, and Black is gone. Lena is devastated. She reaches him by phone; he says his phone died and tells her to keep coming south. At Carlson's Hardware, Campbell finds the store demolished: windows shattered, shelves emptied, the register broken open. Lena tries to console her, but Campbell snaps. Frustrated, Lena storms out.

Campbell follows and finds Lena frozen in place. Down the street, a massive line of riot police with shields, batons, and horses stretches across Seventh Avenue. A flaming trash can triggers their charge. In the chaos, the girls find Black and his crew. Marcus also appears. He and Black immediately clash. Three riot police close in on Marcus. A baton strikes his shoulder, and his head cracks against the asphalt. Lena screams, but Black restrains her and insists they flee. They retreat until Peanut, one of Black's crew, pulls up in a blue sedan and everyone piles in.

At Campbell's house, she discovers the trunk is full of merchandise stolen from Carlson's Hardware. She recognizes the car from her father's alley beside the store. Campbell and Lena confront Peanut, and Black sides with the girls, telling Peanut the theft jeopardizes their music career. As they unload the goods, Peanut pulls a gun. After a terrifying standoff, Big Baby seizes the weapon and ends the crisis. Peanut, Wink (another member of Black's crew), and Big Baby drive away, with Big Baby leaving to serve as a moderating presence.

Campbell's father arrives after receiving a message and charges at Lena and Black, but Campbell intervenes, calling them her friends and lying to protect them. She tells him the store is destroyed, and he breaks down. They sit on the porch all night. Lena walks home with Black but refuses his kiss, angry he never came for her. Before parting, she asks him to text her Campbell's number. Inside, Pops is waiting. Lena soaks her feet, plugs in her phone, and texts Campbell two words: "Home safe." At dawn, Campbell receives the message from an unknown number and knows it is from Lena.

In bonus chapters set after the riot, Marcus faces a rioting charge that threatens his probation and begins seeking pro bono legal help. Campbell, writing college application essays for Georgia State University, describes how the riot forced her to see her community with open eyes. Lena, delivering a graduation speech at her church, accepts a scholarship and credits the night with teaching her self-reliance. She announces her plan to study fashion merchandising at the Art Institute and notes that Campbell is in the audience.