What I Liked
The culture in this novel is unbearably true to life. The cycle of poverty, drug addition, absent fathers, grandparents forced to be parents, older siblings forced to be parents... all of this is a reality in the United States and something that is often passed down from generation to generation. Another aspect of culture that shines true here is that of African American culture. I love seeing the strength of the characters, the presence of voodoo (while I do not believe in it, this also exists in America today and has a strong presence in the novel), and the tumultuous race relations in the South.

Reading Jojo's story makes my stomach twist and turn. With each terrible scenario, I cringe for him and hold my breath. I feel the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I appreciate that there is no evil character in this book. Everyone is broken. Everyone is flawed. And everyone is trying as best as they have the capacity.

What I Didn't Like
The ghost was a little much. For a story that built so much tension in character development, the ghost just went a little too far, in my opinion.