An emotional story told through verse about a brother seeking to avenge his brother's death. Jason Reynolds chooses words that hit hard and bring the characters to life. Though this story takes place in a timeframe of about a minute, it is emotional and raw. I am very interested in reading the graphic novel version of this story, as well. 

This was an eye-opening book as an own-voices narrative is told through the perspective of Tally, a sixth-grader who is dealing with so much. I had a difficult time listening to this book, mainly due to the bullying and lack of support from family and friends. Tally's character tries to fit in with the other kids at school, but it seems like everything that could go wrong went wrong. It was heartbreaking to hear about the way her peers treat her, and at certain points, I honestly felt nauseous because of what people were saying to her. Tally's character, however, still finds ways to dig deep and discover who she is really trying to be. She strives to help others understand what it is like to have ASD and the lists and tips she creates are helpful to both the other characters as well as the readers. 

Made it to page 31. This was a book I was assigned for a class. I did not get around to reading it for the week and did not have an interest in continuing it. 

This is a beautifully written story about friendship, mental health, and self-discovery. I cannot wait to pick up the second and soon-to-be-published third books in the series. 

I read this book as a part of my required reading for a graduate course.

I did not know much about the book before going into it, but it was nothing like I expected. The plot was not super complex, but the topics that came up were heavy and tense. I think I read somewhere that this is one of the first young adult books to take on the challenge of not ending with a nice, happy ending, and that is an understatement. 

Everything wrong that could have happened to Jerry did, and the bad guys always seemed to come out on top. I also did not find any of the characters loveable.

I am very much so looking forward to the class discussion and would love to hear any thoughts on this one.