JuJu is such a great character, and his story really broke my heart. Set in a time and place where racial tensions are still very much a part of everyday life, JuJu is forced to learn how to navigate while still trying to pursue his dreams. Pettigrew really brings the whole story to life, with unforgettable characters and a story that evokes emotions from the reader. It covers some very heavy topics, and some readers may find it eye-opening as it takes place in the modern day, and not the mid-20th century. Highly recommend for all literary fiction lovers.

This book was written in a very nice tone, it's a good story, easily readable. But despite the comfortable tone, it's about very serious racial problems in the US, a couple of decades ago, and considering the events of 2020, it's quite eye-opening about how not that many things have changed, unfortunately.

The story is largely about life in the ghetto - cops picking on children, the way you either blend into the subculture or it erases you, and you can't shed the effects even after you leave it - and leaving is about the only real way to survive, but it's not always accessible, in fact, it's accessible only to a lucky few, because life in the ghetto can be a trap. Life is hard in this book, and of course it's sad. I'm not sure when I downloaded this book, but I think it was written before the BLM movement really took off worldwide due to the tragic events of 2020. After it, it's even more tragic to read about these things and know that it just doesn't change - or at least, it doesn't change as fast as you'd want things to change.

Books like JuJu are important, because these things need to be talked about more. Literature often concentrates on struggle, but many high brow lit only concentrates on the struggle of a middle class or poor white man, specifically. Books like JuJu are similar in their goal to capture the struggle of a man trying to get out of a trap of a hard life, being hardened by their experiences - the difference is that it's about a Black man, and it's very relevant to have this literature grow more widely read.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader's copy. Wonderful story of love, friendship, hope, adversity and strength. I definitely recommend this book. It won't disappoint.

This book is a wonderful narrative of life changing situations that determine where we may be at some time in our life. A strong mother doing the best she can, but ends up having to move her family to the “ghetto “. What follows is a story about family, friendships, relationships and that thing called life. Wonderful read that is well written. I highly recommend this book to all. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

As financial circumstances change and the family has to move to the ghetto in Buffalo New York East teenager Juju is confronted with a whole new way of life. Gradually Juju drifts into joining a gang where stealing, scamming, and defending your patch becomes the norm.
Crack later appeared creating a war zone with easy money that leads to gangs arming up, drive-by shootings and corrupt racist local police.
There is also a wonderful story of love, friendship, hope, adversity and strength in a young man's journey to be enjoyed. This story is fiction only I feel the last pages are very personal. Thanks Tomario.
A honest review BooksGoSocial and NetGalley