TITLE: The Truth of Right Now
AUTHOR: Kara Lee Corthron
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse
DATE PUBLISHED: January 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1481459471
PAGES: 288
This book punched me right in the heart. I started reading it and couldn't sleep - and now I've had insomnia ever since.
There is nothing easy about this read. If you're looking for something fluffy and toasty to help you feel better about life - this ain't it. Corthron writes with candor, wit, and beauty. These characters have layers that unfold right off the page. They are flawed and messy and....real.
Tracy is 16 and returning to school after a nervous breakdown. Feeling like she doesn't fit in and like she's wearing a scarlet letter, her curiosity is sparked when she sets her eye on the gorgeous new black guy with the glorious local eating lunch by himself. She musters up the nerve to strike a conversation one day, and the story takes on sparks from there.
Corthron tackles race, class, privilege, mental illness, abuse, parenting styles, friendship, love, interracial relationships in ways that are nuanced, inciteful, heartbreaking, and raw. This book is sexy, disturbing - and you won't want to put it down until you know what happens, and it satisfies all the way to the very last word.
This book pulls on the senses. I felt like I was in New York. I could taste the food - see the art - hear the music. I felt the emotional pain and angst of the characters. No character is wholly good or bad, they are all complex. Probably one of the best and understated books dealing with police brutality and black lives matter of the year.
Recommendation: Must Read
Audience: Young Adults
*The ebook was purchased on my Kindle.
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