ARC, 480 pages
Release Date: September 23, 2025
Published by: Harry N. Abrams
Read from: September 4-13, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: The Publisher (I received a free ARC from the publisher. I also met the author at the ALA Conference. This did nothing to influence my review)
Content Warning: Emotional Abuse, Abortion, Toxic Friendship
For Readers Interested In: ARC, Coming of Age, Contemporary, DEAR, Family Diversity (Single Mom, Dad came back but it’s complicated), Feminist (Power of Choice), Sparkly Covers, Most Anticipated, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Black), Realistic Fiction, YASeventeen-year-old poet Truth Bangura begins senior year unsure of life after graduation, but when she learns she’s pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, she makes one decision she is sure about—an abortion. When Truth performs a poem about her decision and her emotionally turbulent home life, the performance is recorded and posted online for everyone to see—including her mother.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I found Hannah’s works last year when her book hit the Morris Award Finalist list. I usually never like novels in verse, but that book captured me. And I knew before I finished it that it would be something special. So imagine having to wait for her next one like I did. But the wait was well worth it. Because this one was just as good. Maybe even better.
Y’all if I showed y’all my ARC of this y’all would probably start cackling. I have so many notes and so many highlights! I LOVED this book and I was so emersed in it. I loved so many different quotes. Her writing plus the stlye she put this in litereally had me saying “Yooooooo” out loud. Like that, “Truth is… I’m a liar” line? Straight fire. I will never forget that lol As someone who loves word play, I knew I had to get this on my radar. It was just so good.
So usually what gets me about novels in verse is how it feels choppy and like all the details and flowery language aren’t there. It takes a bit away from the story. But not in Sawyerr’s novels. They still give the full picture and you’re not stuck trying to put any of your own ideas in it. She gave us a complete story and all we had to do is sit back and enjoy. It is on the longer side, but because its a novel in verse, it doesn’t feel that way. There’s lots of blank space on the page, and the one with the graphics on it gave a fresh look at some of the other pages.
I also loved the message. There’s so many different stigmas and lies surrounding ab0rti0ns from people who are outright lying and trying to remove our rights. I was glad this book showed what it is that they actually go through, from beginning to end, one difficult decision to the next. I was glad that Sawyerr showed that it’s never easy to make that decision. People like to make those that do into villains, like they had no problem doing it, and I’m just glad she gave us proof to challenge that narrative.
The characters were a true test for me tho. I was mad af at all of them except her and the Slam group. They seemed to be the only ones who had her back. Her mom….. was not great to put it lightly. Her dad wasn’t either. Despite her being hurt, she still chose to keep the hurt going by doing Truth the way she did. It seemed like a trauma response, which I get, but Pride and culture were getting in her way every time. And her “FRIEND”?! Yeah I have so many notes on her. Because what do you mean that was selfish? But I’m not surprised. It’s always ok until it you realize that you’re only excited because it’s not you. I hope she never went back to that person and never supported her again.
This book was so good! I hope that y’all go pick this one up! Even if you don’t usually like some of these things in this book, I guarantee you, once you get started you won’t even realize its not something that you would usually read. This book gave me all the feels, from scared to happy to relieved, to peaceful. It was a lot and I welcomed every bit of it.
Overall, I give this
