This book wasn’t perfect, and at a lot of points it was loud and bright and almost too much—and that’s one way I can be sure it’s most definitely worth reading. Jasmine and Chelsea could be a lot, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m very non confrontational, so a lot of these scenes had me squirming and covering my eyes, thinking, “Do they really have to talk about this, too? Can’t they just let it go?” But I’m starting to think that maybe we shouldn’t just let things slide. Maybe that’s why so many issues in the world have yet to change.

The writing was beautiful, though it did jump really far forward in time quite frequently, which made it tricky to follow. A really intense scene or convo would happen, but then the next chapter would be a month later and the scene is never addressed again. I also think Jasmine and Chelsea could be a bit selfish at times, but that’s likely because of their newness to activism and their ages. As some of the teachers told them (or maybe it was Leidy), if they do it for themselves, what are they really fighting for? And if they had slowed down a bit to examine their thoughts and motives, and other perspectives, some of the events might have been kinder. Then again, sometimes we need to drop the niceties and shout, and that’s really what this book was all about.