A review by pilesandpiles
Disgruntled by Asali Solomon

5.0

This is a great coming-of-age novel -- well plotted, richly characterized, and cleverly written. Asali Solomon is just a really good storyteller. One thing that stood out to me is the relatively minimal role that romance and sexuality have in the narrative (they're there, but the main character doesn't have any obsessive crushes, for example), which allows other aspects of a teen girl's life that don't often get foregrounded -- like moral and ethical questions around family, race, and class -- to remain at the center. The final series of events is a bit haphazard, but it didn't detract much from my overall impression.