I actually re-read parts of this back to confirm how I felt about it. The book is casually racist throughout - the author is white - the character telling the story to you is white - and it's very clear that this is the lens that you are viewing the world and the characters through, many of whom are Black. The writing of the queer couple was the only reason this gets two stars instead of one. I wanted their love story to save the book, but it doesn't.