Monique W. Morris

It is hard to give a book like this 5 stars when it is so heartbreaking and infuriating but it also delivers a powerful message that needs to be heard. The stories of these young black girls made me wonder more about the adults around them than the girls themselves. How they can survive at all much less attempt to thrive with so many obstacles and biases in their way is amazing. It did end with resources and ideas for change to better the system and help these girls be treated more equitably. It was a difficult but important read especially if you are a part of the education system in any way.… (meer)

I just read this author's nonfiction "Pushout", about the school-to-punishment pipeline for Black girls, and so picked up her novel. This is a hard, sad look at pimps and prostitutes in West Oakland, and in the determination of a Black Panther sister to make change. Told from the perspectives of Jesus, a "Mack of the Year"; Peaches, orphaned and turned out by Jesus; also mother of Jason, who sees no path but following in his father's ways; and Chinaka, friend to Peaches and prospective savior of Jason. All their lives are bereft and filled with violence, yet there is dancing and thoughtful reasoning and glimmers of hope. Very well written, with great empathy for everyone caught up in the game.… (meer)