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

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book felt me, in many ways, like a contemporary Toni Morrison novel in its painfully poignant vignette-y telling of Black girlhood. The story takes place in 1990s Chicago and captures the way a group of children encounter violence and gain awareness of shared and individual trauma. It highlights the failings of systems and the ways in which systems cause intentional harm to Black folks through the eyes of girls who lose the right to their innocence and childhood because the world refuses to protect them and fights against the loved ones who try to shield them. Tough read at times, but beautifully written and exquisite characters. 
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