Onyx — Navi Robins

Explore the timely topic of race and politics in Navi’ Robins’ new novel as a school for underserved students winds up at the center of a national murder investigation. The Onyx Institute of Higher Learning, a luxurious and state of the art boarding school built far away from the horrors of inner-city gang violence and poverty, was built for children just like Malcolm. Onyx’s purpose is to give at-risk African American and Hispanic children a new direction. After being open for ten years, Onyx boasts an astonishing 3.2 or higher GPA average and 100% graduation rate. With more than twenty-five thousand at-risk children taken off the streets and attending the Onyx Institute annually, the U.S. has experienced a 42% violent crime rate reduction nationwide, making Onyx a beacon of hope for the violent inner cities of America. But some consider the Onyx Institute a training ground for homegrown terrorism, and the newly elected President has vowed to his conservative supporters to deal with the “Onyx Problem” swiftly. Tensions build after the evidence of the murder investigation of a U.S. veteran implicates several students attending Onyx, creating a nationwide demand to close the boarding school forever. But the students of Onyx won’t give up so easily, and soon the entire world will bear witness to the power of unity and hope in the hands of a new generation.