4/5 (audiobook)

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Mark Oshiro did a great job creating a diversely connected cast of characters that truly come together to learn and grow from the greater cause.

Heading into this book, I was not sure what I was going to think. I had heard good and bad things about it from BookTube, but I was ready to form my own opinion on it, and the book really impressed me.

I was really impressed with the representation and diversity of characters. Oshiro did a nice job of introducing each character and giving each one their own personality and place within the story line. This is something I feel does not happen a whole lot in young adult literature, though it is starting to become more prevalent.

The plot motive running through the story is very powerful in itself, but Oshiro's choice to make a teenager the pushing factor for it really helped show, at least to me, how much a societal issue like this can affect everyone within a community. This is such an important lesson that our society could use to learn.

The only reason I did not give this book 5/5 stars was because of the dialogue. Though at times the dialogue was complex, I felt it was pretty simple throughout most of the novel. I did have to remind myself that the book was being told through the eyes of mostly teenagers, but I felt the conversations could have been a bit more complex throughout.

This was a great listen for me and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a moving, powerful novel about relevant topics.