I hadn't really heard of Sugar Town Queens before I got it, but it ended up being a pretty enjoyable read. It's about a brown girl who lives in South Africa with her White mother and nothing but tales of a mysterious Black father she's never met. Amandla is a girl who feels different – because of her mother's mental illness, the color of her skin, the drama going on around her. I think readers will relate well to her. Her story becomes much bigger when she discovers secrets about her family that her mother has been keeping, and she uncovers a messy, complicated history of family drama. The theme of family is at the center of this book. There's family drama, learning to reconnect with family, finding family outside of blood relatives, and standing up to family. This book also does well at touching on pride and acceptance, both of one's self and one's community. Race politics and bigotry have a big impact on Amandla's life, and I enjoyed reading her story and seeing how she navigated that. I also liked seeing the particular dynamics that play out in a South African setting. There's also a little bit of a mystery element to the book, which didn't work super well for me. Mainly it's that the big reveal wasn't that surprising but was really built up. At times I felt like it made the plot drag on a little, but the overall story was about more than the mystery and was still really interesting. Overall I'd give it 3.5 stars.