ALA Booklist (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Lena is sassy and fashionable, and she dreams of fame. Campbell is quiet and reserved, and she just wants to survive the year at her new school. These two high-school girls e black and one white nd themselves caught in the middle of chaos at a Friday night football game. Despite being strangers, they must rely on each other in order to escape the frightful scene. On their journey towards safety, they encounter several dangerous situations, such as riots, fights, and looting, which force them to learn about and appreciate each other. In their first collaboration, authors Segal and Jones have produced a novel that addresses the racial tension in our nation, including current issues such as police brutality. This is a book that is sure to make young readers think, highlighting the importance of understanding different perspectives as its chapters alternate between Lena's and Campbell's points of view. An eye-opening read that will be useful for starting conversations in group settings.

Kirkus Reviews

Two teenage girls—Lena and Campbell—come together following a football game night gone wrong.Campbell, who is white and new to Atlanta, now attends the school where Lena, who is black, is a queen bee. At a game between McPherson High and their rival, a racist slur leads to fights, and shots are fired. The unlikely pair are thrown together as they try to escape the dangers on campus only to find things are even more perilous on the outside; a police blockade forces them to walk through a dangerous neighborhood toward home. En route, a peaceful protest turns into rioting, and the presence of police sets off a clash with protestors with gruesome consequences. The book attempts to tackle racial injustice in America by offering two contrasting viewpoints via narrators of different races. However, it portrays black characters as violent and criminal and the white ones as excusably ignorant and subtly racist, seemingly redeemed by moments when they pause to consider their privileges and biases. Unresolved story arcs, underdeveloped characters, and a jumpy plot that tries to pack too much into too small a space leave the story lacking. This is not a story of friendship but of how trauma can forge a bond—albeit a weak and questionable one—if only for a night.An unpolished grab bag of incidents that tries to make a point about racial inequality. (Fiction. 15-adult)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Debut authors Segal and Jones deliver split points of view in this drama that follows two teens: Lena, who is black, and Campbell, who is white and new to Lena-s school. After a racially charged fight breaks out during a football game, school resource officers become involved, gunshots crack the tentative hold preventing an all-out riot, and the night erupts. Lena, unable to get a ride away from the madness, teams up with Campbell to make their way home, where Lena-s boyfriend is working on his album. Along the way, protests draw white supremacists, who run over a black woman, setting off more violence. Though Lena and Campbell-s stories seek to tell the gripping perspectives of two girls from different backgrounds, the characters lack dimension. Unfortunately, the novel stops just short of wrapping up Lena-s story, leaving Campbell with a more full character arc, while Lena, problematically, feels more like a mouthpiece for a stereotypical black experience. Nonetheless, the novel-s timely, accessible look at urgent issues of racial justice will likely draw interest. Ages 14-17. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. (Aug.)