3.5/5 stars.

This book is about a black girl who's growing up in the predominantly white city of Portland, Oregon. I did not grow up in Portland, but I do live in the area now. It was so nice to read a book that is set in a place that I am familiar with. It did a really great job of illustrating the divide there is between the different sections of Portland. I wasn't able to identify with our main character, Jade, on everything, but it was really validating to read about a girl who looks like me who in growing up around where I am.

One thing I really enjoyed that this book looked at was conflict within a race. It is often that people believe that those in a minority group believe the same thing, but it was nice to see the conflict that arose from the diversity of opinion. It made the story more realistic. This especially connected with me because I live around Portland and the narratives that were highlighted were very similar to those that I see on the day to day.

I think the reason this book wasn't the most amazing thing for me is because I don't think it was written for me. I could totally identify with Jade and her struggle, but Jade is a junior in high school and I'm a senior in college. Some of the struggles that she went through, especially with friends, were things that I don't really interact with a whole lot anymore. I think I would have connected with the story a whole lot more if I would have read it in high school. I would LOVE to see what black girls at a Portland high school would think about this book. It wasn't written for me, it was written for them. I. Ant only hope that they would get the most out of it.