I was given the privilege to review this ARC and wanted to share a few thoughts.

BJ is a high school student in the 1980s when his world is turned upside down. On the same day that his mother dies of cancer, his father is released from prison and arrives at the hospital to take BJ home. The rest of the school year focuses on BJ grieving his mother’s death while getting to know the parent he hasn’t seen in over seven years.

I would have liked the first half when I was in high school. BJ has a strong voice and is a very likeable main character. The tone changed drastically in the second half, which was a shock. I think Bester was trying to cover a multitude of topics: the death of a parent and gang violence being most prominent. I liked seeing BJ’s relationship with his little sister. Some parts got surprising religious which was very unexpected. I have to take off some points for toxic masculinity.

TW: SA

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

<i>Mendel</i> is a heart wrenching work of fiction about survival and family. The protagonist BJ is a 17-year-old boy who is struggling to find himself after he has just lost his mother and now his father, who he hates, has just come home from prison. <i>Mendel</i> is the debut novel of author, poet, and Mendel school alumnus Damone Bester.

BJ has just lost his mother to cancer and his father returns from prison after 10 years. He is struggling with who he is and what he wants to be. He is ordered by father to go up and sort out of the memorabilia his mother has stored in the attic. This triggers a whole new experience for BJ. He starts to questions himself and his beliefs about his mother and father. Following his mother’s aspirations, he finds a love for track. His coach and a teacher from Mendel try spur him onto better things but he struggles with pressures all around him. Meanwhile his father starts to hold mysterious meetings with gang members in the basement of their house and his aunt starts to reminisce about the challenges of growing up in this violent Chicago neighbourhood. Can BJ find his way in the world with this mess going on around him? This becomes the question.

Bester does an excellent job of developing the characters. BJ himself is it is only a 17-year-old teenager who’s at a loss to decide where the future will take him. Bester does excellent job of demonstrating the angst that a teenager feels and especially the up and down emotions all teenagers experience. He also does an excellent job of showing the influence of friendship among young teenagers and how they can be led down the wrong path under the auspice of helping a buddy out. BJ’s father and aunt are also mysterious characters that slowly unfold as the book continues.

The book <i>Mendel</i> is a wonderful story about coming of age in the very violent environment of South Chicago. Guns and fights are common and having to prove oneself is a big issue. Mix this with all the drugs and violence and one is left with quite a challenging environment but an excellent story. Because of Bestor’s direct writing style initially the book feels more like a documentary or commentary than a work of art but as the story continues one is able enjoy that style.

I recommend this book to people who like stories about overcoming adversity along with the coming-of-age, the love of family, and the role of Christianity. I give this book a four on five and I want to thank Net Galley and The Story Plant for providing me a with a digital copy of this book. I give this review voluntarily