Lena and Campbell aren’t friends.
Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she’s going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.
When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.
They aren’t friends. They hardly understand the other’s point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they’re going to survive the night.
This book deals with topics we unfortunately see all too much of in news nearly every day. Novels such as this are crucial and timely, and when I saw that author Nic Stone blurbed it, I knew I wanted to read it.
The contrasting characters and their viewpoints really make this novel. Lena is in a familiar environment, but is very much aware of its dangerous undercurrents, much more so than Campbell, new to the neighborhood, and the epitome of a fish out of water. With alternating chapters, their voices are distinct, and the narrative is well done. Their conversations, and occasionally clashing opinions, throughout the evening do a good job at shedding light on the reality of their lives, and shattering stereotypes they hold of each other.
No doubt the girls’ situation is intense and precarious, and this is communicated well. That being said, I questioned some of their actions. Lena leads them toward her boyfriend, who is supposed to take them to safety, but he’s in the direction of the rioting. It’s mentioned early on that Campbell’s house is a twenty minute walk from the stadium, where it all began, so I wondered why they didn’t go there to begin with. Maybe a map at the front of the book would have been helpful? Their reasoning wasn’t made clear, especially when Campbell had a phone, and there must have been other friends or people at the stadium who could have given them a ride. I also thought a peaceful protest in the city at such a late hour was odd.
This is a compelling book with strong characterization, but parts of it seemed random, and I would have liked more information on the characters’ reasoning, and more of an overview of the rioting. This book is scheduled for publication October 1st, 2019.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Books and Such 
I was intrigued by this book when I first saw it on your blog. It sounds like a strong story, but also that there are several plot holes unaccounted for. Excellent review, Teri.
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Exactly. A thrilling, tense premise, but then so many questions about their logic. I get that the girls needed to be placed inside the conflict, but those holes needed to be taken care of for it to be believable.
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That’s a tough topic to tackle. It’s a shame about the inconsistencies, but you’re right; it’s a timely topic.
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A tough topic, and the authors handled it very well, Staci.
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Sounds intriguing with a few stumbles along the way. I love the idea of putting such different people together under a stressful situation.
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That really made the book for me, Craig – how the girls had such strong misconceptions about each other and their lives, and how they reacted being put in such stressful situations.
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Just had a personal conversation about something very similar with my boss. A lot of fictional opportunity there. Reminds me of an old Lee Marvin movie where the US soldier got trapped on an island and the only other human was a Japanese soldier.
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Excellent review, Teri.
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Thanks, John!
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😊
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Insightful review, Teri. I can’t understand why we don’t embrace our differences instead of allowing them to push us apart. Racism is ugly and so unnecessary.
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Exactly, Jacquie! Just think how boring it would be if everyone was the same. Where’s the fun in that?
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Wonderful review Teri! It seems like that one has a tough topic indeed!
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Thanks, Sophie! And the author did it very well.
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A most interesting topic, Teri. This sounds like it is worth reading.
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It was very tense at times, Robbie. And sadly, very realistic.
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Sounds like a great read, Teri. Save for those plot holes, which I believe the author still has time to fix before publication – I totally would , in her place.
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So would I, Jina. I noticed some other reviewers had mentioned the same things.
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Maybe all those reviews are from the same edition. I realized a month ago that publishers update the revised work about 3 times a year.
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