Family, Love, Self Discovery, Racism, Self Loathing... Woodson managed to fit all of this in a short book with such impact that it sits with you for a while. 

I loved everything about this book. From Melody and her need to understand her emotionally absent mother while also loathing her for not being there for her, to Iris who had a child at 15 and ran away from it all before eventually trying to face the consequences of her actions, to Sabe, my favorite, who spoke of generational trauma passed down from her mother and battling with feeling like she failed<i>her</i> child. I almost cried and that's a rarity for me when reading. 

The way the book juxtaposed the effects of a teenage pregnancy on the mother vs the father, on a poor family vs a well off family, the individuals involved vs the community that shamed them. Oh how I loved reading this book. 

Jacqueline Woodson, I have become enamored with your writing. I can't wait to read more of her work.