This is an accessible and poignant read about Raymond Santana's journey to (re)discovering his purpose, leaning into his innate talents as a source of strength, and pushing (in every sense) his way back into a place where he can show who he really is. Santana outlines his life before that night in Central Park, and the reader gets a sense of who he was as a child and the forces that shaped him. There are a lot of details in here about his background and his life upon release that I was previously unaware of, and that help complete the portrait of him as a full person, before the case that unfairly thrust him and the four other young men into the spotlight. I enjoyed the addition of photos at the end, as well.

There are some important messages here about emotional regulation and managing stressful, often unfair situations; not only within the context of Santana's wrongful conviction, but within life overall. Throughout the book, there's a recurring message that where one may currently find themselves does not and should not define them or dictate what they are capable of, particularly if they have the desire for something more. These are messages that are sure to resonate with teens as well as anyone who's found themselves struggling. It may have taken Santana a while to find his place, but he made it, largely on his own.

The overall tone of the book is a positive one, but by no means does Santana sugarcoat the circumstances of the case, or of his struggle. His path to recovering and maintaining hope was long and fraught, one that he still fights to this day. His memories of being interrogated for hours are brutal, and the illustrations depict his fear and confusion in detail. There's still an undercurrent of sadness in the book because of what he and the other four young men have experienced, and what they lost. He was such a happy teen with potential, and we'll never know what could have been because the boys were robbed of that opportunity. The author is frank about how his time in prison at such a critical developmental age, right as he was entering young adulthood, stagnated him. I found his statements about being physically older and stronger while still being emotionally stuck at the nexus of his trauma to be compelling. But this undercurrent never keeps the reader from being inspired and encouraged by his story overall; his decision to fight on in spite of setbacks, including his own self-doubt, always takes precedence.


I can definitely see this being used in teen discussion groups and book clubs, as it works well in conjunction with a variety of topics, and I'm curious to know how teens would respond to it. It's imperative to hear stories like those of the Exonerated Five in their own words, as their accounts take on renewed importance in light of the current moment. Even though these events are within very recent memory, there are at least two generations of youth, even those who are from New York City themselves, who do not have direct knowledge of them, and the information that they do get from elsewhere might not always be accurate. As such, I think that there does need to be some more elaboration about other cases of police brutality and misconduct (which contributed to the atmosphere in the city) such as the Eleanor Bumpurs case mentioned here. I'm from New York and was around during the time, so I have that frame of reference, but other readers would need more details. Nonetheless, I'm always happy to see books and any other related material from the Exonerated Five. I would that they would all tell their individual stories in due time, if they so choose.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Astra Publishing House (Calkins Creek) for this DRC in exchange for a fair and honest review. The views and opinions expressed are my own.

Incredibly powerful and painful and essential. It was clear how Raymond Santana's innocence was robbed from him by his unjust conviction as well as the convictions of the other members of the Exonerated Five with his struggles to stick with his passions for art and fashion. Seeing the shirt at the end was extremely emotional and his emotions were clear even when not described on every page including through the pictures, especially ones of him crying. Seeing his interests, hopes, and feelings about his family is also a strong way to counter the way his humanhood has been stolen so many times by the rape allegations and the people who ignorantly believe him (it took every muscle in my body to keep the language with that polite) very similar to Starr's point in The Hate U Give when she says, "Khalil lived!"

This is really accessible and inspirational hi-lo read. I was expecting something like a graphic novel, but the pages alternate between spreads of large, simple text and (usually) full page illustrations. The illustrations are soft and earnest, and appear to be colored pencil and watercolor. The format feels much like a children’s picture book which I’m afraid will be off putting to some teenagers.

The content, however, is really relatable. For students unfamiliar with the exonerated 5 this will be eye opening. But it doesn’t linger on the court case or crime. The story is laser focused on Santana’s emotional experience and mindset - finding hope and purpose, mainly through art, in the midst of hardship.

This book has mature themes and would not be suitable for anyone under 9th grade. I feel like the is more of a graphic novel and not a memoir. I am still left will too many questions. The art is beautiful and really adds to the story!