Following the life of Aiden, a junior in high school who tries out for the football team his older brother is on.  Both boys love football and Brandon is mentioned to be a big shot with a bright future ahead of him.  Yet, when he steps in to help get his brother out of a fight he ends up being arrested himself.  The cops failing to listen to the harm they were causing.

This story did a good job at capturing the life some people have to live.  People having the privilege of looking the other way when they see something.  Keeping things quiet or being friends with some people all the while putting others in danger by disgusting stereotypes.  Aiden finally notices this, he realizes why his parents told him to always mention things like his mom being a lawyer when he was questioned by authorities, or how his brother had to mention their coaches name in order to get a cop convinced they weren’t in the wrong place.  It’s in the little things everyday and it’s the smallest action that can have the biggest impact.

The writing is truly outstanding, the plot balances out the unfortunate reality of social justice all the while having a good sense of home, community, and identity as Aiden figures out what happened that night. Aiden has such a good support system in tack with his family and later on with his friends.  His thought process was honestly so pleasant to read.  I really enjoyed how football was mentioned in this book as well.

If you liked “The Hate You Give” this book has similar vibes and I would highly recommend it.

(Note: I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity.)

✓ Football

✓ Coming to Age 

✓ Black Autistic Rep

✓ High School Setting 

✓ Good Family Dynamics

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Spice Level: n/a

Sad Level: 💧💧💧💧

Plot: 9/10

Pace: 10/10

Ending: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Enjoyability: 7/10

Writing Style: 9/10

Would I Recommend? Yes

Favorite Character: Aiden

Favorite Quote: ❝❞ (coming soon, due to this being an unfinished copy I can’t share quotes yet)

POV: First Person

Pages: 384

Format: eBook

Language: English

Release Date: 15, April 2025

Rep/Extras: Black Main Character with Autism, BIPOC (Main and Side Characters), LGBTQIA+ (Side Characters)