Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

✨Thank you to @hearourvoicestours and @simonshuster for the eARC of Your Corner Dark. This #ownvoices book tells the story of Winston who has won a scholarship to study in America. When his father is shot Frankie makes some tough choices to help him recover. Will he be able to salvage what’s left?

My 15 thoughts about the novel are below.

✨Frankie is a likable character and you want him to win!
✨I’m a former school counselor and reading Frankie’s story reminded me of what many students are dealing with on a daily basis.
✨Loss and grief are major factors in the choices that Frankie makes.
✨In spite of Frankie’s dad, Samson’s, many mistakes, his son is willing to jeopardize his entire future to save him.
✨I’m glad Frankie got to experience some normalcy of teenage life with Leah.
✨ The systemic issues impacted every facet of his life. The same broken system had Franklin retrieving water regularly and caused the hospitals to have issues.
✨There are many times in the novel I wanted Frankie to reconsider his choices. I had to remember Frankie used what he knew to make the decisions he did.
✨I have some unkind words for Uncle Joe and Samson for that matter. 👀
✨Samson, Joe, and Aunt Jenny’s interactions are great examples of the impact of generational trauma and how it impacts family systems.
✨The reader gets to see how different characters are coping with their circumstances and environment.
✨@desmondhallauthor has videos of different Jamaican sayings to help the readers who are unfamiliar with the patois.
✨Politics matter.
✨I loved the phrases and sayings scattered throughout the book. They reminded me of things I heard my grandma, aunts, and uncle say while growing up.
✨I think Your Corner Dark is a relatable debut novel. I look forward to reading more from @desmondhallauthor
✨Look at the details in the cover! Gorgeous!

✨You should read it. (Out now!

Very visual read. Like reading a movie script almost. Engaging story. Definitely recommended for any young man out there. I wish there would be a follow up to see how Franklin ends up. Great story.

Your Corner Dark is a gritty look at the reality of gang or “posse” life in Jamaica.

Frankie is mourning the loss of his mother. His father struggles raising him on his own, treating him the only way he knows how, through extreme tough love. Frankie’s uncle Joe is the leader of the local posse, a life Frankie and his father want no part of.

At school Frankie shines, he is vigilant in his studies. His golden ticket out of Jamaica comes when he receives a scholarship to a school in the States. Sadly, when he goes out to celebrate, a shooting happens, landing his father in the hospital.

This is where everything starts to spiral for Frankie. The only way to pay for his father’s medical care is to accept money from his Uncle. The only way to pay back his Uncle… is to work it off through the illegal actives in the posse.

Your Corner Dark is a continual gut punch. Before reading, I was completely ignorant to this side of Jamaica. The author’s style of writing was at times jarring but, it matched the tone of the story. Frankie is an amazing main character, who is constantly between a rock and a hard place. Which apparently is what Your Corner Dark means.

An enlightening, exciting read about the depressing realties of Jamaica.

#ownvoices Jamaica for the win. This is my first encounter with Jamaican prose and I loved their poetic turn of phrase. This would be an amazing addition to any world geo class that includes living books.

Your Corner Dark is an #ownvoices story the follows Frankie, who receives a scholarship to start his college education in America. After Frankie's father is shot, he has to decline his scholarship, give up his dream and join his uncle's posse to help pay for his father's medical treatment.

🇯🇲 The phasing "Shitstem" reminded me of my father telling me about "Shituations" 💛💚🖤

🇯🇲 This book made me reminisce about my childhood. Samson's stern parenting, holistic way of healing and phrases reminds me of my own father. I found myself laughing during certain parts especially when Samson thought Cerasee tea heals everything 🤢🤮Desmond's writing is so vivid, I felt like I could smell and taste all the meals mentioned. Uncle Joe, I have a few words for him. The way he treats Frankie 😡🤬 I love Aunt Jenny and Leah.

🇯🇲Your Corner Dark also deals with heavy topics such as coping with loss, gang violence, societal, economical and political dynamics.

Frankie, Frankie, Frankie. As I turned the pages of this book, I kept wondering, when will Frankie catch a break? Here's an ambitious high school senior being raised by a poor single father and has high hopes of escaping the Jamaica you do not see on tourist pamphlets; the Jamaica riddened with poverty, corruption and gang violence. Frankie is smart, he exels academically and earns himself a prestigious scholarship in the U.S. but an ill fated tragedy puts his plans on hold. We find the true test of family loyalty, sacrifice and even some deception coming into play as Frankie is forced to make some unimaginable decisions. The life he's running from is the life he's forced into by the people who should be helping him to have a better future. This made me reflect on the reality that being family or close friends is never a promise of good intentions. I cursed Uncle Joe and Bradford so many times throughout this book, I had to remind myself they were fictional characters. What's remarkable about these characters though, is the stark similarity to much of life as we know it. Unfortunately, politics breeds violence and corruption and innocent voters are still caught in the midst of this. The criminal justice system is corrupt and children continue to slip through the cracks of the education system daily. As an immigrant and a school social worker, I see the injustice. I enjoyed the cultural aspects introduced in the scenes; playing dominoes, eating bully beef sandwich under a tree, carrying water in a bucket, an adult who is always trying to give you cerasee tea, going to Hellshire Beach are all things that are embedded in Jamaican childhood experiences. I loved that Frankie embraced these as a part of who he is even while striving for better. Frankie is a fighter. Well, he's more than a fighter but I won't give too many spoilers. He's an inherently good young man who is punished for putting the needs of others before himself. For me, the pacing was a bit slow and I would've liked more of my raw, uninhibited patois but overall strong character development and there were some surprising twists that I didn't see coming. I'd be excited to have more of Leah and Frankie in the future.

Frankie Green, smart and studious, lives in Jamaica with his father and his mother died due to cancer. He has big dreams to go to America on an academic scholarship. But when his father is shot, Frankie is caught between a rock and a hard place: joining his uncle Joe's posse to help pay for his father's medical bills or abandon his father on the island.
Written in third-person, this novel is a gripping account of the hardships of family tragedy, loyalty, and obligation combined with the pressures of living in a country undergoing political strife. The characters were flawed and relatable as Frankie finds himself torn between his obligation to his family and his desire for higher education. The tension is of the book and climax are strumming throughout the entire narrative, which left me on the edge of my seat. Desmond Hall does well in creating the world and characters in Your Dark Corner and I look forward to seeing more from him.

Great book! We'll written with a good pace. The plot was consistent. Characters were well developed.

Thank you to Hear Our Voices Tours and Simon & Schuster for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Frankie Green is awarded a full-ride scholarship to the university of his dreams in America. But when his father is suddenly hospitalized, Frankie must stay in Jamaica and pay for his father's medical treatment the only way he knows how-- by joining his uncle's gang.

I appreciated that the author offered an alternative to the stereotypes we are often fed about gangs. Multiple characters pushed back (as much as they could) against committing acts of violence within their community, and it's clear that their affiliation offers them a sense of safety and protection.

It's also been nice to hear from Jamaican reviewers who enjoyed this book a great deal.

However, I just don't think this book worked for me. I was excited to read the book because of it's unique setting, but I found the writing style hard to get into and caught myself skimming large portions of the text.

I was rooting for Frankie, but I felt little to no empathy for him the entire book. He's a child with a deceased mother, a dying father, and an uncle forcing him toward a life he's fought hard to avoid for so long...and still! I felt nothing for him.

I do hope that this book finds its audience though. It's certainly an important story that deserves to be told.

YOUR CORNER DARK is a touching and poignant story about a young Jamaican man who simply wants to make something of his life so that he can help the country he loves so much. Trying to fulfill the wishes of his late mother and live up to the expectations of his demanding father, Frankie has been fastidiously dedicating himself to school and applying for an engineering scholarship in America. Frankie’s entire world is flipped on its axis one day after Frankie attends a party hosted by his uncle Joe.. Joe is the leader of a powerful and expanding posse, his entire intent on helping his people in ways that the local politicians don’t. Being in a posse is no joke: once you’re in, you’re never allowed back out.

Author Desmond Hall does an excellent job portraying the difficulties Frankie has dealt with and continues to deal with. It is clear from the beginning that Frankie feels some anger about the death of his mother, as well as some regret and guilt. This is a common theme throughout the book as Frankie movies through grieving people, memories, and hopes and dreams. We see Frankie, who is a determined character from the beginning of the book, cope with the reality of having to reimagine what he wants for himself. This is not an easy journey for Frankie; he’s broken apart several times throughout the novel and must put himself back together. What Frankie realizes quite quickly is that when you’re forced to piece yourself back together, you look a tad bit different than when you first started your journey. And Frankie learns to love and embrace every reconstructed version of himself and his reality.

The title <b>Your Corner Dark</b> comes from a Jamaican saying that means "between a rock and a hard place." Frankie is a smart and talented young man who has just won a full scholarship to his dream school. Just as he is about to realize that dream his father is gunned down. He doesn't have the money to pay for his medical expenses but his Uncle Joe, the don, does. The price for his uncle's financial assistance is that Frankie join his posse. For life. No school. No leaving for America. His hopes dashed.

In <b>Your Corner Dark</b> we get to see the effects of government corruption and gang life on the "everyday man". You are genuinely scared for Frankie as he really has few options and fewer people to count on. I loved all of the turns of phrases and felt that this was a solid debut. I look forward to seeing more from Desmond Hall.

I am at a loss of words to describe this book. When I read the blurb, I wasn’t expecting anything, I was totally blank as to which direction the book was going to take, but when I started reading the book, I was hooked from the page one. I wanted to stop reading, think and analyze whatever was going on but at the same time I couldn’t actually make myself do that.

The story starts with Frankie waiting for his scholarship letter and everything feels bright and good. There’s hope given to the readers that things will turn out well for him but slowly and gradually we see the realities of a third world countries being introduced to us. There were instances of street fights, gang wars, random shooting, domestic physical beatings, colorism, class divide and so much more. I didn’t know much about the posse system in Jamaica but the story described it in such a way that it seemed as if I already knew all the customs and everything. Every new mission or chapter made me think and anticipate what would happen next.

The best thing about this book was the character development. One could clearly see Frankie’s struggles and the way he dealt with them was no joke. No child deserves to make such rash, no choice decisions that he had to make on a whim. He sacrificed a lot. Through all of this I really liked how he came with terms to him understanding himself and his decisions much more wisely. Somehow there was no way I was able to sympathize with his uncle. Like seriously why in the world would he make his nephew give up full scholarship to join in posse where his life was almost always at stake? All in all, I totally loved the book and would honestly highly recommend it!

** Trigger Warnings: Death of a loved one, Colorism, Fights and violence, Gun firing, Domestic physical abuse (beatings with belt

Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall
3. 5 Stars out of 5 Stars

REVIEW:
"The rain is falling but the dirt is tough."

Your Dark Corner follows Frankie, a teenager, growing up in rural Jamaica, who was accepted to a university in the United States. However, a gang attack results in his father getting injured leaving him with medical bills, leading Frankie to make a deal with his Uncle, leader of a “posse.”
I enjoyed the coming of age story of Frankie who is doing what he believes is best to save his father. The plot was realistic. This was a sad story filled with family turmoil and unconventional displays of love, as well as the portrayal of life growing up in the shadows of violence and corruption. It deals with a side of Jamaica many tourists aren't aware of and Frankie’s story is realistic. The characters really stood out, Frankie and his girlfriend Leah were my favorite. They are teenagers who are coming of age and acted like so. The book also delves in the Jamaican culture evident through the writing. The writing, at times, was jumpy but this was an advance copy and could possibly have changed for the final copy. Desmond Hall also used a lot of slang that was a hit or miss but, with that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Frankie’s journey and learning more about the Jamaican Culture.

"Your Corner Dark" is a great read for fans of...
-Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi
-Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
-Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds
-The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
-I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
-Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

4.5 stars
"'Yes, yu' corner dark,' she said"

Your Corner Dark is a book I could not put down. From the first few pages I was hooked!! It legitimately made me start tearing up within the first ten pages. Desmond Hall writes a book with characters you are invested in. They are complex and contradictory- human in every way. Frankie is my heart; I was cheering for him throughout the whole book. I laughed for him and I cried for him. AUNT JENNY IS MY GIRL; I WON'T HEAR ANY SLANDER PERIOD. Samson and Uncle Joe both cared for Frankie in their own way and it was interesting to see how the choices they pushed Frankie to do played out.

Your Corner Dark showed how politics and gang life in Jamaica are interconnected. "It wasn't about who had the better plan or better idea; it was all about connections. He had guessed at this before but now it was bone-chillingly clear." Frankie as a dark-skinned young man does face some discrimination from some of the other characters in the story. He is "black boy" and sneered at. Your Corner Dark shows the struggle for international students when it comes to going off to college. There are some dark scenes in this book that are very vivid and tense. It shows the dark side of inner-city life to the full extent.

quotes I liked from the book
"Jamaica was like a messed-up parent: You loved it, but at the same time you wanted to leave it. You said bad things about it, but you'd get mad if anyone else said anything bad about it."
"Exhaling, he was oddly proud of Aunt Jenny, the way he had been of his mother. They were Jamaican women, hips forward."
"...The sweet mountain breeze caressed his face. He could smell the positivity. All Jamaicans breathed it. Out of many, one people."

Thanks to Hear Our Voices Book tour and Atheneum for the ARC.
*Quotes taken are from an ARC; may not match with final copy.

In this YA novel we follow Frankie a teenager growing up in rural Jamaica, who has recently been accepted to University in the United States. However a gang attack results in his father being shot and hospitalized requiring expensive treatment. Frankie makes a deal with the devil (his Uncle) leader of a “posse” and we watch as his path changes drastically.

This was a sad story filled with family turmoil and unconventional displays of love, as well as the portrayal of life growing up in the shadows of violence and corruption. It showed a very dark side to Jamaica, made all the more vivid because of its closeness to the true life experienced by inner city youths. I did feel at times the author took an “all or none” approach to his story telling, which did make me uneasy.

The major problem I had was with the language. Although some semblance of patois was used in conversations in the book, the body of the book and inner musings of Frankie felt inauthentic with expressions which would not be used here in Jamaica.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster as well as Hear Our Voices Book tours for this gifted ARC. I

Gritty, emotional and action-packed #Ownvoices Caribbean novel. This book is a definite page turner. It gives readers a different side of Jamaica that people don’t see often. I had the feels for Franklyn, he really wanted to get that scholarship to create a better life for himself.

Your Corner Dark is a thought provoking novel that takes place in Jamaica. The main character, Frankie, is about to leave his village home for the first time in his life, until his entire existence tumbles out of control, and he finds himself obliged to make decisions that derail him. The story follows Franky as he negotiates his new life, and as he attempts to grapple with his many losses.

The book is intriguing and there are many times that the reader wants to jump into the book to shake the characters in hopes of stopping them from what they are about to do. The realities of Jamaican politics are displayed in full force, as is the way that gangs, or posses as they are referred to, play a part in managing the public on behalf of the corrupt police and politicians.

Franky is a fascinating character, and on a human level it is easy to identify with him in his suffering. The ending leaves the reader hopeful but wondering. While written for a YA audience, the book is easily appreciated by adults as well.

This book truly gutted my heart and soul from my book. It had me shook by how much I was able to relate to the main character, Frankie. The language, the patois, the little side remarks, the arguments used and portrayed throughout the book were all to familiar to me. The scene between Frankie and his father at the beginning of the book reminded me of much of the relationship my mother and I have with each other. Then when Frankie mentions that when his father offered to shave his head was his father's way of apologizing, I was just like "bruh! this is the same thing my mother does". This was a book I was able to relate to and made me realize how much of the Jamaican culture I am deprived of and how much I would like to go back and visit and explore.

I loved this story so much because it was able to depict the struggle of being a teen in Jamaica. I felt myself cheering Frankie on for every win he had throughout this read, hoping that he can figure out a way out of each situation he found himself in. He was just a teen with a lack of options and was trying to find the best way to survive. I respect that about Frankie as a main character and his character development was not alway a straight line going upwards towards success. I appreciate the fact that Frankie had moments where he stumbled because life is just not easy, especially in Jamaica.

I learned so much from reading this lovely book! I thought the writing was outstanding and the pacing was exactly what I was hoping for. This book kept me wanting to flip to the next page, that I read it in one complete sitting! I think it deals with such important issues and offers amazing representation. Highly recommend!

If you'd like to see my coverage for Frolic, you can find it here: https://frolic.media/perfect-pairings-books-and-sam-smith-songs/