A review by cpinon
The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds is about a boy named Matt who is dealing with the recent death of his mother. The death of Matt's mother greatly changed Matt, and made his focus on life to be more mature. Matt develops relationships with other characters throughout the story and tries to find ways to cope with his mother's death. My favorite character was Mr. Ray. This is because he became a sort of father figure for Matt after his dad relapsed into alcohol and was hospitalized after an accident. Mr. Ray mentors Matt and helps him cope with the death of his mother, and teaches him how to deal with the troubles of life. The characters felt very real to me. Matt is portrayed as a normal teenager who is forced to grow up and deal with the hardships of life, which a lot of readers can relate to. The story definitly brought me closer to tears of sadness than to tears of laughter. I think that the ending should have been slightly changed, to not make it seem like a perfect ending. Overall, I thouroughly enjoyed this novel and it made me reflect on my own life. I would suggest this book to teenagers, because it gives a character that is very relatable to adolescent life and allows teenagers to reflect on their own lives.