5 stars. Loved this one— Was indeed akin to Just Mercy, Dear Martin, and The Hate U Give. Will definitely be recommending to students and teachers.

This book follows the footsteps of The Hate U Give, Dear Martin, and Just Mercy to further explore how the criminal system unfairly and unjustly affects African American families. Our main character is a smart, driven young women who writes letter to Innocence X trying to convince them to take her father's case so he can be exonerated and released from death row serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Then her brother goes on the run when he becomes the main suspect for the killing of a young white woman he was seeing behind her boyfriend's back. I like how the story showed both ways to work within and against the criminal justice system. The family have a friend who became a cop that they trust much more than the rest of the police force. While she is struggling with finding her brother and proving her father's innocence she endures the suspicion of those she goes to school with and must decide who she can trust. The ending shows how racism isn't something this country has moved past but must continue to fight against. While I enjoyed most of this book I had problems with the force love triangle between the teens that wasn't fully resolved and I also felt too overwhelmed by the number of issues our characters struggled with (but maybe I am supposed to feel that way). Great addition to the voices lifting up these issues for teens to read and discuss.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This book was amazing. It brings race and justice system inequalities to the forefront while also having a compulsively readable story with characters you so desperately root for throughout. Tracy has been writing letters to Innocence X (a non-profit organization that conducts appeals on death row cases) for years. Her father has been on death row for 7 years and now, the countdown is on. Because in less than 280 days, he will be executed. Before that can happen though, Tracy needs them to take on her dad's case. Then he can be freed. He can come home. And life can go back to some sort of normal. But then tragedy strikes again. When one of Tracy's white classmates is found murdered, suspicion immediately turns to Tracy's brother Jamal, a promising track athlete and star student. Everyone seems to forget that about him though as public opinion rushes to condemn him. Jamal runs from home the night the police come, so Tracy has to find some way to prove his innocence while also finding a way to bring her father home.

Highly recommend. This is a first purchase type of book for all collections serving YA readers.

I loved this book. I thought Tracy's character is the embodiment of the BLM movement. She fought for justice and even when so many obstacles were in here way, she bulldozed them. I think this should be required reading for either late middle school or early high school students as it talks of race, social themes, culture, and the power of a single person.

Tracy's life and emotions about her dad on death row are so palpable. Sometimes, at the beginning, they feel almost young even though she's a junior in high school. But then you remember how long her father has been away for and how that must feel, and everything works. This story really manages to tie together a number of story lines in a way that doesn't feel crowded. It feels like real life in a small town with historical race issues. I loved that this book was also a mystery. That wasn't clear when I started but I love a good mystery, and this does not disappoint. This is such a fantastic book for 2020 that will resonate with a lot of people. It's YA, with mature themes like love, sex, lynching, the death penalty, etc. but I think it can be read by mature middle schoolers as well who are just beginning to learn about the intricacies of the world around them. The author's note at the end is really illuminating as well.

I am still in shock.
This was an amazing, poignant, necessary read. As a woman of color, this spoke volumes. I could feel all of Tracy's hurt while reading. It was a painful yet beautiful read. My heart is hurting and I need everyone to pick this up ASAP. This is a book that I made sure to speak about to everyone I know while I was going through it. POWERFUL.

I love this book, and cannot wait to teach it in my eleventh grade course. I already teach Dear Martin, but I would love to add this to my classroom library and syllabus.

If you liked Dear Martin, you will like this book. I enjoyed Nic Stone's character, but the book isn't as plot-driven as this one. Kim Johnson writes about two Americas, and that the world of Black America is very different than the other. The main character, Tracy, is fighting to get justice for her father, who sits on death row. However, her family knows he is innocent: he was home the night of the murder. Charged without strong evidence, he only has a year to live before his execution date. Tracy fights to get justice and legal assistance for one final appeal to save her father's life. In the midst of that, her brother finds himself in trouble, and Tracy has to fight racism, prejudice, and a flawed justice system to find her family.

Unfortunately I read this book on the last day of 2019 because I truly believe it will be one of the best books of 2020. This book is an emotional and touching take on the mass incarceration epidemic and the cycle it creates, but it’s also the story of a family unit holding together against adversity. I found the romantic subplot somewhat unnecessary but helped show the dynamic of Tracy with her peers. I also liked the language and dynamic of the writing. It made it feel authentic. An incredible read. Deserves all the praise of The Hate U Give.

I came for the social justice and was pulled in by the mystery. A book that teen readers will find captivating.