Sugar Town Queens was such a joy to read! It was such an emotional and heartwarming story, and the characters were so authentic and true to themselves. I was unsure of how I would feel about this book at first based on the synopsis, but I was pleasantly surprised by it and I am so glad I got the opportunity to read it! Sugar Town Queens revolves around Amandla, a brown girl growing up in a South African township with her white mother Annalisa. Amandla struggles in dealing with her mother's mental illness and growing up without her father. The setting of the story was very unique; I have never read a book that took place in South Africa before. The characters, from Amandla and her mother to Amandla's two friends, were so lovable and fierce. The premise of the story drew me in and kept me interested during the entire book. Amandla's story is so poignant and I really felt for her. The discovery of family secrets and learning more about Annalisa's backstory was so interesting. I really appreciate how the author writes about heavy topics such as racism and poverty in such a heartfelt and sincere way. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for an intriguing coming of age story that has quite a few twists and turns!