Narration: 5 Stars
Story: 5 Stars

The point is to let your bruised and bloodied bodies serve as evidence that the government means to kill you, if you so much as protest its bigoted policies.

This, right here, is a powerhouse debut - hilarious, heartbreaking, poignant, sexy, and thought-provoking, this is easily my favorite book of the year thus far!

I loved the way this story was told - it's divided up into different lessons, rather than chapters, lessons like "a sanctuary can be a sordid place" & "victory can be a thorny crown", & is presented in an autobiographical way from the perspective of Trey, a young, gay Black man in NYC in the 1980's. It was fascinating seeing how Newson wove real life queer & non-queer historical figures & events throughout - I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed the footnotes, which provided a little more context into specific moments within the story (the physical book is a must). Newson's writing was phenomenal, I'm surprised at just how much he was able to pack in a book that's just under 300 pgs. Amongst other important topics this covered activism, Blackness, the HIV/AIDS crisis, misogyny, queerness, privilege, & racism - not only are you given an amazing story, you're provided with an opportunity to learn more about people & events often shadowed throughout history. & I can't finish this review off without giving a huge standing ovation for our audiobook narrator, Jelani Alladin - what a performance, he really made these characters & this story come to life!

I highly recommend grabbing both a physical & audio copy upon release next week, trust me when I say this is story you don't want to miss! & thank you so much Rasheed Newson, NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC, & Flatiron Books for providing an ARC, in exchange for a honest review!