This book started out on the slow side for me, but it really picks up towards the middle. There were many nights where I stayed up WAY too late reading because it had just gotten so good. It's a book that makes you really stop and think about racism in America. It's a book that takes some very extreme circumstances and makes you really feel what these characters are experiencing. This was a first for me with this author, and if her other books are as well written as this one, I'm a new fan!