Unfortunately this book has gone in my DNF pile. It just wasn't engaging me like it would have years ago when I first requested it. My reading tastes have changed a lot over the years as I've gotten older and unfortunately some of the books requested years ago have been affected by my reading tastes and the fact that a lot of books for younger audiences haven't been grasping my attention as of late. I thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Always intrigued by a fiction book that integrates a true crime, I was interested in this book from the start, and it did not disappoint. Medina has authored a well-written book that managed to both break my heart (some parts were very difficult to read, but also brought to light a very important issue) and uplift me.

Told through the eyes of a young woman named Nora, readers are brought straight into her difficult world, lightened only by her friends and a young man who enters her life. Also impacting her story is the real-life shootings committed by the Son of Sam, who caused fear among all young women in New York at the time this book is set in. This is a smart, well-written, emotional book that I would recommend.
Posted by The Bookkeeper's A

Set in New York City in the summer of 1977, Medina’s book sizzles with the heat and the rising tensions of a city terrorized by the Son of Sam killer and a string of arson fires. Seventeen-year-old Nora and her best friend just want to dance and have fun but even being out with a boy is no protection from the elusive killer. Nora’s brother Hector is out of control and a threat to his mother and sister, as well as the neighborhood. Medina has created a vivid portrayal of a frightening character; a young man who listens to no one and hurts everyone. Hector is intense and his actions add to the pressure building around Nora. It’s Nora who’s been holding her family together, but things are spinning out of control. The plot includes feminist issues, poverty, drugs and real-life events that plagued New York during a time of unrest. There’s a heat that pervades the book, due to the temperatures, the rising tensions and the fires. The pervasive threat of a killer-on-the-loose ups the tension in a city that is in the edge.