ALA Booklist (Fri May 27 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Goodman makes her debut with this heartbreaking novel exploring grief and revenge about a girl trying to clear her sister's name. Beau is an aspiring artist who is looking forward to the day when she can leave her crumbling neighborhood behind. Her plans are interrupted, however, when her older sister is killed by an off-duty officer who claims that she and her boyfriend were trying to break into his home. The only person who could tell her what happened that night is the boyfriend, who's currently on the run, but Beau is determined to locate him and get more details about her sister's untimely death. Goodman has penned a complicated book; Beau is still grieving her sister's death, but she simultaneously has to keep pushing forward at school, navigate gang violence, and find her sister's boyfriend. While there certainly is action, the plot meanders at times as Goodman focuses on Beau's relationships and grief. The explosive ending will leave readers with a lot to chew on. An immersive novel about trying to live in two worlds at once.

Horn Book (Fri Jan 13 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Beau, a gifted Black sixteen-year-old artist living in Chicago public housing, idolized her older sister, Katia, even though Katia had begun to make questionable decisions under the influence of her boyfriend, Jordan. After Katia is gunned down by a white off-duty police officer accusing her of trying to break into his house, Beau believes that Jordan -- who has gone missing -- is to blame. She begins to search for Jordan in hopes of clearing her sister's name and soon discovers that she is not the only one looking for him, and that her search could risk the lives of everyone she cares about. As she wrestles with her own grief and the tragedy's effect on her family, Beau also makes rash choices in her attempts to prove her sister's innocence, even as she comes to realize Katia had more secrets than she'd thought. While the reader is drawn to Beau, her first-person narrative reveals motivations that seem counterintuitive, rendering her both a sympathetic and flawed character. Interspersed flashbacks to Beau's time with Katia deeply intertwine themes of love and grief. The mounting action culminates in a complex but comprehensible conclusion, given the unfortunate flaws and loopholes of the judicial system. Fans of Thomas's The Hate U Give (rev. 3/17) will find this a compelling read-alike. Eboni Njoku

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

Sixteen-year-old Black Chicagoan Beau, an aspiring artist, navigates feuding parents, budding romance, police violence, and unresolved grief in Goodman’s intense debut. When Beau’s older sister, Katia, is accused of breaking and entering, she’s killed by a white off-duty police officer. Reeling, as well as seeking closure and justice, Beau enlists her free-spirited friend Sonnet to help her search for the event’s only witness: Katia’s boyfriend Jordan, a former Onyx Tigers gang member, who went missing after her death. Gathering tips from an anonymous Twitter account lands the teens in increasingly dangerous scenarios, resulting in death threats, a harrowing night in jail, and a deadly shoot-out. As Beau’s investigation brings her closer to the truth about Katia’s death, she confronts facts about her sister that she never knew while struggling to navigate life without her. The narrative juggles multiple story lines, at points causing confusion and leaving plotlines unexplored and questions unanswered. Nevertheless, Goodman’s depiction of the pain, lack of empathy, and presumption of guilt that Black youth often experience due to systemic oppression lands on a necessary, hopeful note. Ages 14–up. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary. (June)