A review by lucybbookstuff
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I'm always talking about how much I love Chicago media, and media that portrays Chicago with love and care. But the truth about all that is I'm mainly talking about the Chicago I have experienced. There is a huge portion of the population experiencing an entirely different place. No less loveable a city, and certainly still deserving of criticism as well, but very different. So it is good for me to hear these stories as well. I could tell that it truly came from the heart and experiences of the author, which always adds a little extra something. It was also very well-narrated and immersive.

I just wish it did a bit more showing-not-telling. It was very much a predictable, linear narrative. There is nothing at all wrong with that, I'm just personally looking for something a bit more challenging in my contemporary fiction reads.