Pamela N. Harris

Two stars because her writing of a teenager was so realistic. This is not a book about a bombing. It is not a book on dealing with the aftermath of horrible injuries brought on by a racist attack. It is not a book about a polarized friend group as a result of that. This isn't even a coming-of-age tragedy! The synopsis severely misled me. This is in fact an incredibly poorly structured coming-of-age friendship drama with a side of blossoming romance. The bombing would be a Big Lipped Alligator Moment if it weren't barely and clumsily foreshadowed for a few pages throughout the book.

SPOILER
If you want to read about the bombing, it occurs at the eighty-seven percent mark of the book. Page one hundred and sixty onward. While the book tries to convince its audience that the death has a huge emotional impact, the person who dies is someone the protagonist hardly interacted with and is barely even a friend. She's a romantic rival at one point. The bombing is at first planned by activists because--what? And then the mastermind behind it all is--why? What? How did he convince activists to work with him? It's absurd. And it's for insurance? And the money will be used to fund -lawsuits- that are indeed pointless but adored by right-wingers? WHAT?!
SPOILER OVER

The book examines the breaking down of a friendship due to refusal to acknowledge class privilege and white privilege, and oppression faced by those without the privileges. A romance blossoms and is quickly snuffed out. Um, okay. I wanted the MC to hook up with Butter. Their relationship seemed a lot more organic and they--but I also get why Connor was an option, you know? I didn't want it to work out with Connor. The contrast between the two was well done with how the emotions, background, and reasons for meeting and talking were examined. The author made her point and then kept making it. She tried to inject different aspects of each into different modern situations but like, you already did it. Can we move on? Apparently not. I was glad for Eric and the MC's mom. I liked both of them a lot. Go Eric and MC's mom! It would have been -so- interesting to have the book from -their- perspectives. Alternate between the two adults worrying about their daughter (yes, I know Eric is not the bio dad) and reflecting on -their- relationships with the -parents- of the kids, especially when the hate crime at the daycare occurs. That is not to be, as this is YA.

I'd be willing to read other works from this author. I want to learn what else she can do, and I hope I like something else of hers..… (més)