CW: racial slur, racism
Gil Powell never thought he would be on the train to Manhattan in a button down and khakis at the start of his senior year on his way to Augustin Prep, a nearly all white school on the Upper West Side. It is a world away from his prominently Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn. On his first day, he has an altercation with the school's star quarterback, leaving only Gil suspended. Gil uses Sun Tzu's The Art of War to wage his own war against the administration and make his and other Black students be heard. However, it comes at the cost of balance of his family and life in Brooklyn. Can he make his voice heard?
I actually cannot believe that this is a debut. It is a rich, well written book about a Black student's experience. I had to actually put the book down at several times because I was so angry at the school and the administration. It also has strong themes of family and chosen family. I think the pacing was a tiny bit off because it was slower in the beginning and then sped up really quickly towards the end.
Gil Powell never thought he would be on the train to Manhattan in a button down and khakis at the start of his senior year on his way to Augustin Prep, a nearly all white school on the Upper West Side. It is a world away from his prominently Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn. On his first day, he has an altercation with the school's star quarterback, leaving only Gil suspended. Gil uses Sun Tzu's The Art of War to wage his own war against the administration and make his and other Black students be heard. However, it comes at the cost of balance of his family and life in Brooklyn. Can he make his voice heard?
I actually cannot believe that this is a debut. It is a rich, well written book about a Black student's experience. I had to actually put the book down at several times because I was so angry at the school and the administration. It also has strong themes of family and chosen family. I think the pacing was a tiny bit off because it was slower in the beginning and then sped up really quickly towards the end.