I loved the description of the characters and their culture. It seemed that they felt like outsiders and had a special bond with each other since most kids at their school were white. The predicament Sal was put in after his mother died was so sad and it seemed he was left with no choice but to sell drugs for money so he could pay bills. His father was no help and that was infuriating. It was sad that he had to somehow pay the bills AND care for his father and go to school while his father drank and slept all day. I felt so bad for Noor and the fact that her uncle didn’t want to let her go to college and how he was actively trying to stop her from going. I didn’t expect Sal to actually go to prison since books like this usually seem to have a streak of luck at this point in the book. I liked it because it was realistic and things didn’t just magically fall together so that he wouldn’t have to do any jail time.