This debut novel about the friendship between 4 middle school age girls in the Robert Taylor Homes (a Chicago housing project) in the summer of 1999, when the Homes are being torn down one by one is what I wanted Deacon King Kong to be. It gave me strong Saving Ruby King with some Transcendent Kingdom and This is My America vibes mixed in. This is a character-driven, slice of life story, but there is action. It's about coming of age amid a hail of gang bullets and is filled with tragedy, but it has heart and hope. The story is tightly told (only 224 pages), but the ending did drag a bit.

Thank you William Morrow for gifting me an eARC of this book to review. I rarely keep books after I've read them - I prefer to donate most of my books to Little Free Libraries so I don't have too much clutter. On occasion, I'll read a book and like it enough to keep it. This is the first time I have ever read a book in digital form, and then immediately turned around to purchase a hardcover copy of the book, because I needed to own it and have it on my bookshelf whenever I wanted to revisit it or loan it to a friend. That is how great this story was - it's one you will not forget. Set in summer of 1999, from the perspective of a middle schooler in the Chicago projects during the summer that changed her life, this story was powerful. I hope this book is read widely, and it's one that I will certainly be recommending to many.

I read about 10% and just couldn't get into this one - I've heard fantastic things so I think I'm an outlier.

I received Last Summer on State Street as an advanced copy. Like most ARCs I receive, I knew very little about this book when I received it. <br /><br />Felicia “Fe Fe” Stevens is living with her mother and brother in the projects of Chicago. All around her buildings are being demolished as urban gentrification continues. Last Summer on State Street explores the lives of FeFe and her family and three other young women who were FeFe's friends that summer. <br />The book explores race, opportunity and how others around you can impact your life, whether for a moment or for a lifetime.
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A coming of age story set in the housing projects of Chicago, Last Summer on State Street tells the story of a young girl trying to grow up and get out of the violent neighborhood of her childhood. It reads like a memoir at times, which I think threw me off a bit. This story is tragic, as well as inspiring, and I wish all young people could have the type of caring adults portrayed in this books to help them rise up to what they want to be.

Last Summer on State Street is a coming of age story about Felicia (Fe Fe) Stevens, a 12 year old who is spending summer in the Robert Taylor Homes of Chicago before the buildings are torn down, forcing all the residents to relocate elsewhere. She lives there with her loving mom and older teenage brother. Fe Fe jumps rope with a few other girls and they must be cautious of the dangers in their neighborhood including drug addicts and gang members. With all of the activity occurring around them, their friendships are tested.

The story, set in 1999, is mostly told through Fe Fe’s perspective as a 12 year old then but I enjoyed the adult perspectives too, where she looks back on how living there, and that summer in particular, shaped her life, yet doesn’t solely define her. While Last Summer on State Street is fictional, it felt like a memoir — Debut author Toya Wolfe grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes. I enjoyed reading this moving story and felt for what Fe Fe, her family, and other residents had to endure.

this story is rich with a history of a Black community that once was - that once had children playing double dutch with bullets, that wedded the most gentle souls to gang life, and left many hungry and abandoned.

i cried and i felt so many emotions while reading this. i wanted more for stacia. i prayed for tonya. i held precious. i admired fe fe. even amongst the devastation and tragedies, I still felt the hope and power of Blackness.

In my opinion, The Last Summer on State Street is a very moving and memorable novel that will remain with me for a very long time.

This story about a girl coming of age, FeFe, and her three closest pals is set in the Chicago housing projects in the late 1990s. The girls are subjected to a hostile and often traumatic atmosphere that forces them to mature prematurely.

Since the story is presented in retrospect from FeFe's point of view, the reader is treated to the innocence of a kid as well as the occasional wisdom of an adult. This was executed skillfully, and I appreciated knowing right away that FeFe had matured successfully.

There are trigger warnings for child abuse, sexual assault, and gang violence in The Last Summer on State Street, a novel that is nevertheless real, powerful, devastating, and optimistic. I can't believe it's your first book; that's incredible. Toya Wolfe, the author, is a native of the public housing complex that serves as the novel's primary location, as I learned from a little biography I read. Knowing that she was writing from personal experience added a lot to my enjoyment of her work. There was a greater sense of authenticity and depth to the work as a result, in my opinion.

What a powerful debut novel. Wolfe is able to capture such a specific feeling about Chicago and the neighborhood and the pervasive fear that surrounded it. I am not sure that the structure of an older woman reflecting back on the past always worked, but in the end I was glad to know where each of the characters ended up.

This one was simply a heartbreaking coming of age story. Taking place in the Chicago projects over a life-changing summer, the novel is about a group of young Black girls Fe-Fe, Precious and Stacia and the new introduction to the group Tonya. The book is incredibly vivid and manages to weave in hard topics so perfectly. Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of this one.

Compelling story. Great characters. Vivid writing. Very emotional read. Posted a more detailed review on instagram (@mnijaaay_ if the link does not work)

I am in awe of debut author Toya Wolfe! Last Summer on State Street is a masterpiece! Wolfe has crafted a coming of age story about four twelve-year-old girls who live in the Robert Taylor Homes Project on the south side of Chicago in 1999. The city is in the process of razing this project one building at a time. This book is only 224 pages but carries a story I will NOT forget. The story is told through the eyes of Fe Fe (Felicia), Fe Fe introduces us to Precious who she has known forever, Stacia who she has known for a year, and Tânia who they meet while playing double Dutch. The Project seems somewhat normal during the day with children on the playground. Not so later in the day when the gangs take over. The scene of Fe Fe’s family on the floor of their apartment as bullets rattle the building…….I felt like I was there. I felt like I was a fly on the wall as I watch this story unravel and the girls’ stories unravel. My heart went out to Tonya. Last Summer on State Street is a must read! My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Last Summer on State Street is a must read - told from a preteen’s perspective in the hot Chicago summer - where a combination of how you grow up and what you choose can change instantly. I was absorbed in Toya Wolfe’s narrative.

CW: Violence, Poverty, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Drug Use

Thank you to Netgalley and to William Morrow for the ARC.

Last night I finished LAST SUMMER ON STATE STREET, an incredible debut by TOYA WOLFE. The novel focuses on Fe Fe, Precious, Stacia and Tonya, four friends with very different home lives who live in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes in 1999, when the city begins to tear down the buildings. Wolfe has a gift and she gets you into Fe Fe’s head and with her — it’s like you are growing up in a tough situation. This book moved me to tears at points and really had me thinking about racial inequality and economic disparities. Most importantly, for me at least, it made me put biases aside and understand why someone would join a gang, why gangs proliferate and how difficult it is resist the storyline that it seems like society has decided for you. I’m still thinking about it.

Wow wow wow. First of all, I love this book. Let’s just get that out the way now. Go buy it or put it on hold at your library or strongly hint at a family member to buy it for you. Seriously. LAST SUMMER ON STATE STREET gives heart and reality to the idea of gentrification by pulling back the veil on what it really is: displacement of those who live in emotional and literal peril and poverty on a daily basis. There’s themes of Black girlhood interwoven with the complexities of being Black and poor; and I loved the moments Wolfe gives us of Fe Fe and her friends just being little girls trying to enjoy their summer.

I loved the stylistic choice of the narrator telling us her story with a measure of hindsight, and it’s always fascinating reading a story where we know, in a larger sense, how it ends. It lends to a sense of foreboding but also allows us to fully focus on the characters and their relationships. We know abstractly where they are headed, but not necessarily how they end up there, and Wolfe does an INCREDIBLE job shepherding us on Fe Fe’s journey. I look forward to more work by this author.

This is perfect for fans of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams; Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump; Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley; and Lot by Bryan Washington.

Wow! I was completely transported to 1999, building 4950 of Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes, aka the projects of the city. We hear from the voice of Fe Fe, an 11 year old girl that loves to jump rope on floor 3, a safe place away from the drug dealers, gangsters and guns...usually. Fe Fe sees the things around her, she asks new girls to join their jump roping, trying to create a small, close knit group of girls who just want to be kids.

But, danger lurks on the main level. When gun shots start, the girls know to run to their house inner hall to try and protect themselves from the stray bullets that are sure to happen. We watch Fe Fe come to an understanding of why boys choose to be jumped into a gang, why girls might seem easy, and why other girls struggle with all of life because of a hard core druggy mother who could care less about her children.

This book is powerful. This book SHOWS the problems of inner city crime and the raising up of children within those rings. My heart just broke for the youngsters and what appeared a hopeless future. This is a work of fiction, but the author grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes and I love to see her success.

A few points of the book that hit me hard:

Regarding the gangsters. "enjoying himself at the summer camp for gangbangers. Where a dude could be a dude, no mothers nagging or sisters questioning the stupid things you do, just cops, always the police showing up. {He} had signed up for an ongoing game of cops and robbers." Crushing to me to see that this is perhaps part of the why.

When Fe Fe is reflecting on the day, "thought about Stacia and Meechie out there in the wild". She's using the term "wild" to reference life out on the streets. It seems quite fitting and fearsome.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance e-copy of this book.

📚 Book Review: The Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe

Swipe for a synopsis

I enjoyed this book immensely. Wolfe has an unique writing style. One that is so descriptive that the story nearly jumps off the page. From the colorful characters to the magnificent imagery, this book is pure perfection.

Its written in the POV of a child, which made me side eye it initially. I expected the book to be similar to a YA book, but it wasn’t at all. This book tackles on so many issues such as: gang violence, gentrification, family dynamics, friendships and overall just life in the inner city. It also helps that its a quick, so it gets right to the point.

I rate this book a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I want to again thank @barrettbookreviews, @harpercollins & @toyawolves for including me in this book tour with such dope bookstagrammers and look forward to reading more books by Ms. Wolfe in the future.

#bookstagram #blackbookstagram #bookstagramer #blackbookstagramer #tbr #tbrpile #botm #ilovebooks #boodnerd #booksofinstagram #blackgirlsread #thisgirlreads #blackgirlsreadtoo #books #goodreads #bookofthemonth #fiction #bookworm #20booksbyblackwomen #bookblogger #bookreviewer#LastSummerOnStateStreet #WilliamMorrow #ToyaWolfe #HarperCollins #BlackBookstagram #BIPOCBookstagram #SummerReads

The coming of age story of Fe Fe who lives in the projects of Chicago in the late 1990s. Most of the book was about one summer that shaped the rest of Fe Fe’s life, but the last quarter of the book told the reader about Fe Fe’s life after the summer until the present. I liked that we got to find out what happened to all the characters years later. Emotional read but would make a good summer read since most of the book is set during the summer. This is an own voice novel.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy.

What a fantastic debut novel.

Toya Wolfe descriptively immerses the reader in the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago’s South Side. The story is told through the eyes of Fe Fe and her friends in a realistic and childlike tone albeit that of children that have seen too much.

The story pulls from the authors lived experiences and heartbreakingly elucidates a coming of age filled with tough choices and a loss of innocence. It’s a quick but heavy read and I highly recommend this story of choosing love, forgiveness, empathy, and understanding amid chaos. It’s amazing what a few well placed people in a life can do.

Is there anyone from your childhood that changed your world?

Mine are all teachers!

LAST SUMMER ON STATE STREET was a heart-breaking deep dive into life as a 12-year-old girl living in the projects of 1999 Chicago. The story, which reads more like a memoir than YA, was gritty and honest without being gratuitous. I cared about the girls, their families, and the terror of living amid gang warfare.

This was a fast read. It bogged down a little at the 80% mark when we shifted briefly from 12-year-old to 30-something Fe Fe. But it picks up again with a fresh perspective from a different POV and rolls comfortably to a satisfying ending.

I understood what other reviewers said about this having a strong sense of place. I was impressed and moved by this debut novel full of hope and resiliency.