I'm not sure that my ranking is accurate. It's hard for me to just say that this book is a 4 or really ANY number from 1 to 5. I liked this book, so I put it higher and I didn't like parts, so I didn't give it a 5.

I felt Alfonso Jones started off poorly. The dialogue seems campy and fake, as do all of the students' enthusiasm for learning. Perhaps that's meant to emphasize the academic environment at this special school, but it didn't feel like the real adolescents and teenagers that I encounter on a daily basis. It rang false, like the scenes in Dangerous Minds after she's "reached them all."

Though later parts were disjointed and jumped around, the book definitely grew on me. I didn't put it down and finished it in one sitting. I found myself wishing the parts from the policemen's point of view were more fleshed out, not to make the book even-handed or something silly like that (Our society's not even and shouldn't look that way), but to really dig into a policeman's fear and mindset. What is going on in their heads that leads to horrific crimes like Alfonso's murder?

Perhaps my favorite part was the two 'all-text' pages at the end with the short bios of the real ancestors. Though I liked "The Hate U Give" and "Dear Martin" more, I would encourage everyone to read this book.