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YA
This coming-of-age novel in verse centers on seventeen-year-old best friends Noah, who's white, and Walt (a.k.a. Swing), who's black. A conversational tone belies the multivalence of this story about the complexities of friendship, romance, patriotism, and prejudice. Life seems on the upswing until a wrenching, pulled-from-the-headlines incident shatters the boys' lives and underscores Noah's feeling that "America is sometimes / not so beautiful."