Age: Middle School+
Music: Hip Hop
Tough Issues: Poverty, racial discrimination

Another incredible story about an African-American city teen full of rich characters, action, and relevant issues in the black community involving power-hungry authority figures that target black youth. And that's where the similarities to The Hate U Give end! And comparing the two is such a disservice to Bri's story.

Thomas took on a tough character. Bri is impulsive, unapologetic, and stubborn. The trauma of her father's death and her mother's drug abuse is still raw and her family is behind on their utility bills. All this makes Bri an unstoppable rapper. She's smart, quick-witted, and fierce. Then she's caught up in a case of racial discrimination when two security guards throw her to the ground for selling candy bars at school. She records a song about the event that criticizes the profiling of black kids and teens, and it's on everyone's lips but her lyrics are soon taken out of context and it transforms from a parody to a reality for Bri. But the notoriety could be her way to fame and a way to help her family out of poverty.

A great springboard for discussions on poverty, hip hop, influence of music, racial discrimination, overzealous authority figures, violence against African-American people, drug addiction, private schooling, and young people's motivations and aspirations.