Gil, a Black teen, transfers from his Brooklyn high school to a primarily white Manhattan prep school for senior year. After an incident with a racist student results in Gil being suspended, he enlists other Black students to wage war against the racist school administration, students, and parents in an effort to finally be heard. Can Gil balance his home life and school life while fighting this battle?
TRUE TRUE was an emotionally charged YA novel that kept me turning pages. I felt angry throughout much of the book as I followed Gil’s journey as he, his friends, and classmates regularly dealt with racism. I wanted so badly for them to be successful in having their voices heard as no one should be treated that way. The character development for Gil was great. I enjoyed seeing how he evolved. He had flaws that created challenges, but he learned things about himself as he grew. I liked how Gil’s reading of Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ was wrapped into the plot. The author did a great job of addressing some important topics such as racism and education systems. Overall, the characters and the plot felt realistic. Though targeted for a young adult audience, TRUE TRUE could be enjoyed by a wider age range of readers.
I really liked TRUE TRUE and would highly recommend it. It was a great debut novel. I look forward to reading future works from the author.
Thank you to Nancy Paulsen Books for the giveaway ARC.
TRUE TRUE was an emotionally charged YA novel that kept me turning pages. I felt angry throughout much of the book as I followed Gil’s journey as he, his friends, and classmates regularly dealt with racism. I wanted so badly for them to be successful in having their voices heard as no one should be treated that way. The character development for Gil was great. I enjoyed seeing how he evolved. He had flaws that created challenges, but he learned things about himself as he grew. I liked how Gil’s reading of Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ was wrapped into the plot. The author did a great job of addressing some important topics such as racism and education systems. Overall, the characters and the plot felt realistic. Though targeted for a young adult audience, TRUE TRUE could be enjoyed by a wider age range of readers.
I really liked TRUE TRUE and would highly recommend it. It was a great debut novel. I look forward to reading future works from the author.
Thank you to Nancy Paulsen Books for the giveaway ARC.