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Apr 13, 2019Tigard_LisaE rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Bri, a Garden Heights teen (the same neighborhood that grieved and rioted after the murder of Khalil in The Hate U Give) is determined to turn her rapping skills into a career, and she has to do it fast in order to rescue her family from poverty, an added pressure she's placed on herself. After she is assaulted by her school's security team, Bri has to decide whether to release footage of the incident. This part of the plot felt both recycled and not deeply explored. Mush like Starr, Bri has to figure out how to control public perceptions of the attack, because the media fails to portray the reality, and racist assumptions override the truth. However, Bri's rash decisions are incredibly frustrating, the pace of the plot is uneven as huge events will occur with weirdly delayed consequences, and the principal conflicts resolve too neatly to feel authentic. The book is at it's best when Brie is writing, rapping, and waxing rhapsodic about hip hop.