★ “Jackson repeatedly proves that she is a titan among her peers, and her latest novel is no exception... Jackson weaves the three points of view together seamlessly, creating richly drawn and authentically real teen characters.
ALA Booklist (starred review)
PRAISE FOR MONDAY’S NOT COMING:“A mesmerizing, punch-in-the-gut story about the power of friendship and the horrors hiding right in front of us.
★ “Readers will feel connected to these teens’ love of hip-hop, their loyalty to each other and their love for their community... offers moving portraits of young people... an engaging ode to ’90s hip-hop and to love in many forms.
BookPage (starred review)
With thoughtful attention to detail, Jackson offers a believable cast of Black teens immersed in a particularly rich hip-hop moment. The combination of lyricism and narrative realism is an effective mode of representing a particular sort of adolescence against the backdrops of New York City and rap music.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Jackson doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the pain of abuse and the ramifications of turning a blind eye. It’s a frank, devastating read filled with real and flawed characters, and it’s a story that needs to be read.
★ “Suspenseful without being emotionally manipulative, compelling without resorting to shock value, this is a tightly spun debut that wrestles with many intense ideas and ends with a knife twist that will send readers racing back to the beginning again.
Booklist (starred review)
★ “Jackson effortlessly weaves elements of suspense with issues of race, class, and gender, casting a harsh light on a world that often refuses to notice the disappearances of black and brown girls. The twist at the end is both gaspworthy and heartbreaking.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
With thoughtful attention to detail, Jackson offers a believable cast of Black teens immersed in a particularly rich hip-hop moment. The combination of lyricism and narrative realism is an effective mode of representing a particular sort of adolescence against the backdrops of New York City and rap music.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Jackson doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the pain of abuse and the ramifications of turning a blind eye. It’s a frank, devastating read filled with real and flawed characters, and it’s a story that needs to be read.
Jackson presents a fast-moving, heart-pounding homage to nineties hip-hop, Brooklyn, and the power of music, love, and friendship. Readers are transported to a time when DJs and MCs rocked the parties and when word-of-mouth could make you a star.
05/01/2019
GGr 8 Up– After Steph is fatally shot, his sister, Jasmine, and friends Quadir and Jarrell refuse to let his dreams of becoming a rapper die with him. Posing as Steph's management, they sell his CDs on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant and try to score him a record deal—all without letting anyone know that their client is dead. Like fellow Brooklyn native Biggie Smalls, whose recent death has also cast a pall over the neighborhood, Steph hypnotizes listeners with his smooth flow and potent rhymes. But the truth threatens to catch up with the teens, especially as they get closer to discovering who killed their friend. Jackson vividly brings to life pre-gentrified 1990s Bed-Stuy. Grim realities such as the threat of violence and racial profiling by police pervade the novel, but so does Jackson's abiding love for Brooklyn (or, in Biggie's words, "Spread love, it's the Brooklyn way"). The book alternates among the first-person perspectives of the three protagonists and includes flashbacks to life before Steph's death—an ambitious move that at times slows the pace and keeps the characters slightly underdeveloped. Still, readers will be invested in seeing the trio succeed both in making Steph a star and in realizing their own goals. VERDICT For fans of Jackson and realistic fiction, and a must for hip-hop heads, especially those who devoured Angie Thomas's On the Come Up .—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal
★ 2019-02-21
After a Brooklyn teen is murdered, his sister and best friends set out to launch his rap career.
Stephon "Steph" Davis could've been one of the hottest emcees to come out of Brooklyn, just like his inspiration and fellow Bed-Stuy rapper, the Notorious B.I.G. Unfortunately, like Biggie, Steph was murdered. His grieving best friends, Quadir and Jarrell, discover a treasure trove of tapes and CDs of Steph's music in his bedroom. With the help of Jasmine, his socially conscious sister, Quadir and Jarrell hatch a plan to promote Steph's music. With lyrical finesse (penned for the novel by Sharif) and beats that can rock a party, Steph is "killing them while he's dead." Soon, Steph's demo catches the attention of a well-known rep for a major record label who wants to meet hip-hop's newest rising star. The three teens must keep up the charade while also trying to uncover the truth about his murder. Exceptional storytelling, well-crafted, true-to-life dialogue, and the richly drawn Brooklyn landscape will draw readers into this fast-paced blend of mystery, budding romance, and social commentary. Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are endearing, tenacious, and memorable. Hip-hop lovers of all ages will appreciate this homage to rap legends from a bygone—but not forgotten—era.
Thoroughly engrossing and as infectious as Steph's lyrics: a testament to the unbreakable bonds of friendship and a love letter to Brooklyn and hip-hop in the late '90s. (Fiction. 13-18)
★ “Exceptional storytelling, well-crafted, true-to-life dialogue, and the richly drawn Brooklyn landscape will draw readers into this fast-paced blend of mystery, budding romance, and social commentary...Thoroughly engrossing and as infectious as Steph’s lyrics.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “Jackson repeatedly proves that she is a titan among her peers, and her latest novel is no exception... Jackson weaves the three points of view together seamlessly, creating richly drawn and authentically real teen characters.” — ALA Booklist (starred review)
★ “Deftly chronicles the timely story of bold young talent gone too soon... Jackson scores a bull’s-eye with her passionate homage to black city life in the late ’90s, yet it’s her earnest takes on creativity, love, and loss that are timeless.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “This YA novel harmonizes music and prose to create a certified literary banger.” — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
★ “Readers will feel connected to these teens’ love of hip-hop, their loyalty to each other and their love for their community... offers moving portraits of young people... an engaging ode to ’90s hip-hop and to love in many forms.” — BookPage (starred review)
“With thoughtful attention to detail, Jackson offers a believable cast of Black teens immersed in a particularly rich hip-hop moment. The combination of lyricism and narrative realism is an effective mode of representing a particular sort of adolescence against the backdrops of New York City and rap music.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Jackson presents a fast-moving, heart-pounding homage to nineties hip-hop, Brooklyn, and the power of music, love, and friendship. Readers are transported to a time when DJs and MCs rocked the parties and when word-of-mouth could make you a star.” — The Horn Book
”A thrilling, heart-rending, unforgettable novel.” — Buffalo News
PRAISE FOR MONDAY’S NOT COMING:“A mesmerizing, punch-in-the-gut story about the power of friendship and the horrors hiding right in front of us.” — Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Chains
★ “This thought-provoking thriller examines issues such as abuse, gentrification, and the marginalization of people of color with nuance and sensitivity. The narrative deftly moves back and forth between past and present, building to a devastating conclusion. A spellbinding, profoundly moving choice for YA collections.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “Jackson’s sophomore novel features another ripped-from-the-headlines premise that will keep readers guessing through the final pages. Jackson’s characters and their heart-wrenching story linger long after the final page, urging readers to advocate for those who are disenfranchised and forgotten by society and the system.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “Jackson effortlessly weaves elements of suspense with issues of race, class, and gender, casting a harsh light on a world that often refuses to notice the disappearances of black and brown girls. The twist at the end is both gaspworthy and heartbreaking.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Jackson doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the pain of abuse and the ramifications of turning a blind eye. It’s a frank, devastating read filled with real and flawed characters, and it’s a story that needs to be read.” — Booklist
“The draw of this novel, which was inspired by actual events, lies in its interwoven themes of the effects of gentrification, especially on black residents whose connections, culture, and community become afterthoughts in the face of capitalism. A tragic and heartbreaking tale of love, loss, grief, growth, and perseverance.” — Kirkus Reviews
PRAISE FOR ALLEGEDLY: ★ “With remarkable skill, Jackson offers an unflinching portrayal of the raw social outcomes when youth are entrapped in a vicious cycle of nonparenting and are sent spiraling down the prison-for-profit pipeline. Dark, suspenseful.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “Her novel effectively joins Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th and Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow (2010) to become another indictment of the penal system’s decimating power beyond its bars and, more subtly and refreshingly, a pro-reproductive-justice novel. Searing and true.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “The characters are complex, the situation unsettling, and the line between right and wrong hopelessly blurred. It’s also intensely relevant, addressing race, age, and mental illness within the criminal justice system. Well conceived and executed, this is an absorbing and exceptional first novel.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “Suspenseful without being emotionally manipulative, compelling without resorting to shock value, this is a tightly spun debut that wrestles with many intense ideas and ends with a knife twist that will send readers racing back to the beginning again.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Seen through Jackson’s dark portrait of the legal system and the failures of parents and social workers, Mary’s environments are as grim as the stories that play out in them; readers fascinated by procedural dramas will be thoroughly hooked.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
”A thrilling, heart-rending, unforgettable novel.
★ “This YA novel harmonizes music and prose to create a certified literary banger.
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
Korey Jackson, Nile Bullock, Adenrele Ojo, and Adam Lazarre-White take turns narrating this young adult title set in the ’90s in New York City. Each narrator brings a unique and heartbreaking voice to life. The story follows two best friends who try to honor the life and rapping talent of a friend who has died. With the help of his sister, they hatch a scheme to make him famous from beyond the grave by getting him a record deal. The quartet of narrators has such distinct voices that the story plays out like an audio drama. These captivating performances will keep listeners glued to their earbuds. This is an audiobook that begs to be binged. A.R.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Korey Jackson, Nile Bullock, Adenrele Ojo, and Adam Lazarre-White take turns narrating this young adult title set in the ’90s in New York City. Each narrator brings a unique and heartbreaking voice to life. The story follows two best friends who try to honor the life and rapping talent of a friend who has died. With the help of his sister, they hatch a scheme to make him famous from beyond the grave by getting him a record deal. The quartet of narrators has such distinct voices that the story plays out like an audio drama. These captivating performances will keep listeners glued to their earbuds. This is an audiobook that begs to be binged. A.R.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine