Last Summer on State Street is a fictional story told in the style of a memoir, and the characters are so well developed in such a short book.

In essence, this book is just as the title says. It is about the last summer that the narrator and many of her friends and family live in the projects on State Street in Chicago before they are driven out for the purposes of gentrification. The narrator focuses on all the ways both big and small that this relocation impacted those close to her. At highlights many challenges faced by the black community including systemic racism, police targeting, and the crack epidemic. 

I think this was a story beautifully told and all I could ask for would be little more time with each character.