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

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 
Pros: 
· There was something unique about this book. It read a bit like a memoir, with the narrator having the perspective of older FeFe. I thought this was refreshing and gave the book an “instant classic” feel 
·I liked how, generally through the lens of FeFe, we view characters as multidimensional. We see different sides of characters like Stacia and Meechie 
·I liked the themes of this book and the way it explores community, friendship, trauma, grief, and the treatment of black boys and girls all in a couple hundred pages! Well done 

Cons: 
·Downside of the memoir feel: not quite as edge-of-your-seat-engaging as your average novel. I still really liked it, but I felt there was a certain muted, slower quality to it that lacked the oomph I want from my most favorite books 
·I wish we saw a bit more about why some characters joined gangs in the first place, other than the fact that they were born into hard circumstances. It was so easy to just wish they had made different choices/almost villainize them and a window into some of their minds would have been helpful. Similarly, I think it would have been interesting to have more insight in FeFe’s mind as she processes troubling things- we tended to skip through things and get the tldr from narrator FeFe 
 
Recommendation: What a debut!!! I recommend to those who like books that are more about characters and situations, for those looking for good POC authors/characters, and for those looking for a good discussion book. (I think this would be a great book for a high school English class too! In the best way!) I really liked this one and the characters will stay with me for a while. Avoid if you want suspenseful, driving plots or if you hate memoirs (not actually a memoir). 
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