Trigger Warnings: This book discusses incredibly heavy and important topics. These include: Racism, racist slurs (including the n-word (used by Black characters though)), murder, Colorism, teenage pregnancies, physical abuse by married partners, shaming of girls and women who find themselves pregnant or in abusive relationships, and abuse at the hands of a caregiver, bullying, and rampant unchecked and uncalled out fatphobia.

NOTE: This review comes form a white person.

This book is not a sheltering read, and tha's what great about it. It deals with many complex topics. One I appreciated was exploring the mindset of Black folk who were hesitant against ‘rocking the boat’. It was not a matter or not caring or ignorance, many knew they could die for the simplest step out of line. Rose even asks her grandfather at one point why he doesn’t fight, which he explains by saying “I have a family to provide for. Getting shot down at the courthouse (for registering to vote) won’t put food on the table.” And Rose realises that even if he wanted to fight, he was stuck between risking a vote or feeding his already suffering family. Some people were under the mindset of “It’s been worse in the past, so just be grateful”, and that’s something still haunts many today.

My one and only, but biggest gripe is the rampant fatphobia. Women are regularly described and shamed by their size, (never a man), including the main character amusing herself with the thought of if her grandmother was lynched the tree would never hold her weight. It was a topic regularly brought up, used to shame, never called out, and constant throughout.