As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(4)
YA
Maya cycles through senior year, reflecting on changes to her closest relationships and her newly gentrified Portland, Oregon, neighborhood. Depictions of student activism focus on contemporary social issues and emphasize the importance of sankofa: "taking lessons from the past and bringing it into the future." Despite some unevenly nuanced characters, Watson's debut novel authentically protrays one African American teen's experiences.