I am at a lost for words…this book was both good and bad at the same time. Good in the way that it sheds some light on the limitations of social systems that are meant to protect children, but instead fail them. However there is a lot of potentially triggering content some of which felt a bit much.

I will say, unfortunately nothing that occurred in the book was particularly shocking. I’ve read reviews that critique how realistic this story is stating that it felt fictional. 1. This is a work of fiction and 2. This story isn’t something that is unheard of. I’ve witnessed situations like this before unfortunately.

Having read all of TDJ books at this point, I feel as though TDJ tries to shine light on social injustices to children especially little girls of color. I enjoy her books; however her books are not for everyone as they typically focus around trauma.

Overall- I enjoy this book. It was sad, but an important read.

TW/CW: infant death, child abuse, racism, fat phobia, LGBTIA+ phobia, rape, group rape, attempted sexual assault, ableism, gaslighting