Thanks for the opportunity to read this book! My review will appear on episode 34 of my podcast which drops on Monday, November 13. It will also be posted to my website, Instagram and Goodreads that same week.

Review:

As a gay man, I've experienced plenty of rejection and bullying in my life, as most gay men have. Still, as a white man, I have a privilege that people of color will never have, so to read a story about gay young men is one thing, but to read a story of gay young men of color and their experiences is something completely different. I love that these stories are being told.

The book is told in the alternating voices of Jay and Leroy - two young Black men from Savannah. Jay is on the softer side and always has been. His older brother is everything a man should be - tough, resilient, and charismatic - all things that Jay is not. When Jay learns that Leroy has been looking for him, he is certain it's because Leroy wants to beat him up. Imagine his surprise when he finds out Leroy actually has a crush on Jay (and has for a while).

With this newfound attention, Jay's summer before his senior year begins to look a lot different than it did, but it doesn't come without drama and an underlying sense of unease. When a young Black journalist is murdered, Jay and Leroy find themselves in the middle of something that could very easily put both their lives in danger.

One of the things that really stood out for me was the distinct voices of Jay and Leroy. The author captured both perfectly. Often, when you read a book that is told from dual points of view, the character's voices rarely differ enough that you immediately know which character you're living with at the moment. That was not the case here. I love it when an author can pull this off. Adam Silvera is another author who I feel manages to do this really well.

The relationship between Jay and Leroy was beautifully developed. It felt authentic and genuine, and I found myself rooting for them from the very beginning. Their connection was electric, and I appreciated how their bond was portrayed as something precious and worth fighting for.

The way Leroy is willing to risk everything to protect his loved ones, including Jay, was genuinely heartwarming. It added depth to the story and made their connection even more powerful. The author did a fantastic job of portraying the complexities of family dynamics and how they can influence our choices and actions. I also loved the relationships both young men had with their families. I love seeing tight familial bonds - especially in young adult literature.

While the character development of Jay and Leroy was exceptional, I would have liked to see more exploration of some of the other characters in the book. With such a large and dynamic cast, I felt that some of the side characters deserved more attention and development. However, this did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the story.

The plot was well-paced and kept me engaged throughout. The author skillfully weaved together elements of mystery, romance, and family drama to create a multifaceted and compelling narrative. The tension and danger surrounding the Black Diamonds added an exciting layer to the story.

The inclusion of the murder of a young Black journalist and the exploration of territory tensions added a thought-provoking element to the story. It shed light on the challenges faced by Black communities and the importance of unity and resilience in the face of adversity. The author handled these sensitive topics with care and provided a nuanced perspective that added depth to the overall narrative.

The writing style was engaging and kept me hooked from start to finish. The author effortlessly draws readers into Jay and Leroy's world. The dialogue was realistic, and the emotions felt genuine. The pacing was well-balanced, with moments of intense action and quieter, introspective scenes.

"Pritty" is a captivating and engrossing novel that delves into themes of love, family, and resilience. With its well-paced plot, authentic characters, and descriptive writing style, this book is a must-read for fans of contemporary fiction. Jay and Leroy are endearing protagonists who will capture your heart. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a powerful and emotional read that is outside your typical YA gay romance.

Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love how real this book is, things weren't sugarcoated and the characters were imperfect. I love how the characters all interacted with each other and the family aspect of this story.

I did have some trouble with the pacing and at times it failed to hold my attention. In addition, there was a lot of jumping around and an inconsistent writing style that ended up confusing me a few times.

Overall, I would recommend this book and look forward to the next installment.

I think this book was too short or too ambitious. BUT i am 100% going to read the sequel.

This looks like a romance on the front, but there is a lot going on in it. And there are a lot of characters (at least 15 that we have to know things about to really follow the book, as well as many others that are less central), many of whom i couldn't tell apart really because there wasn't room for backstory on them. The characters i did get to know about, i really grew to care about, which is why i am really hopeful about book 2 in the series--getting a chance to go deeper into the other characters will, i think, really make this work better for me.

I also think this book would work well on audio. A lot was done in writing style to differentiate the 2 POV characters, and i found it sometimes difficult in writing but think it would be really effective when read aloud.

I loved the amount of queerness in the community of characters, and that even though this was set in like 2005 that people being queer and trans was not central to conflict.

I think this book would be a good fit for high school libraries.

NetGalley ARC.

💫Book Review Spotlight💫

Thank you @keithfmillerjr @netgalley for placing this gorgeous🌈 e-arc at my fingertips

🏳️‍🌈Title: Pritty
✍🏾Author: @keithfmillerjr
🌎Pub Date:November 14

💫Review Thoughts💫
In this LGBTQIA coming of age story that revolves around Jay and Leroy, 2 tenable black boys falling in love. Jay the poet with a gift for words, and Leroy who speaks with his hands and body. The story grabs you from the first page when one thinks the other is trying to kill him. This book has Moonlight and P-Valley vibes without the strippers. All the characters are layered well and are interconnected, which makes for an interesting read. The lyrical language it is written in will make you feel right at home, and makes for a quick, satisfying read. I finished this one in 2 sittings. The author does a superb job of captivating all your senses with the beauty of his writing and descriptions of the characters feelings and actions(There is an animated film in the works for this one) I can still smell the scent of Cool Water cologne and peppermint. A few of my favorite quotes from the book: “How do you write a love letter without words?”and “Why do you spell ‘pretty’ the way that you do?…Just look betta to me, like it’s prettier than pretty, on a different level errbody can’t understand….” This is one I highly recommend reading🏳️‍🌈 and there definitely needs to be a sequel. I need Wills backstory🧐

#bookstagram #bookreview #pritty #keithfmillerjr #lgbtq #diversebooks #blackboyjoy

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

The book will remind movie lovers of Moonlight. It explodes same gender love from a Black male perspective. Like an E. Lynn Harris novel from a high schoolers perspective. This is an amazing book that I would love to see make it to the big screen. Some parts are sweet, others are thought provoking. A beautiful story.

Moonlight vibes. Very emotional and thought provoking. A 10/10 for me. Would recommend if you like emotionally intelligent men.

This book was everything and more. The concept of this book was chef kiss this book was more than what was i needed in the moment

This book nourished something inside my heart that I didn't even realize needed it. There is so much love and family and culture inside the pages of this book that describing it by its tropes or narrowing it into one genre doesn't do it justice. So, I'm just going to give a brief plot description and my overall emotional reaction because I think that will help explain things best.

Jay and Leroy are two young men living in neighboring towns of Savannah during a time when the people around them are edging towards war.

Jay, while openly gay, is still struggling with what his sexuality means to him but also what it means to others. He is a boy who cares so deeply about those around him – especially his family and friends – that he can't help but also care about how others perceive him. His worth, self image, and overall outlook on love and intimacy are shaped by these interactions and perspectives in both positive and negative ways.

Leroy, who is slightly less sure of his sexuality, knows that he cares for Jay in a way far closer to romance than friendship. He wants to not only protect Jay from outside forces but from himself as well. Leroy struggles with putting emotions into words and sometimes finds that silence – and sometimes violence – is the only way he can truly get out those heavily burdening emotions.

The love story and journey between Jay and Leroy is so much more than just them. Their brothers, their families, their friends, their enemies, all play vital roles into their dynamic and overall arc. There is so much love, self realization, heartbreak, friendship, generational trauma, and everything in between that gets packed into this single book that I felt as if I experienced an entire lifetime within the pages.

Jay and Leroy are two characters I won't ever be able to forget and frankly, I don't want to. They are such visceral characters, such fierce lovers, protective friends, emotionally route individuals, and a couple I'd root for until the entire of time that I feel inclined to re-read the story just to experience it all over again.

Considering how the book ending I am hoping for another book although I could also be content in conjuring up my own conclusions. Regardless, this is one of the most beautifully written MM stories and just books I've ever read and I'm excited to see it get its hype.

Raw. That’s the word that first came to mind while reading this story set in the aughts about two Black boys falling for each other. Raw in the sense of powerful. Tough. Passionate. Unfinished.

Sometimes, I have problems finishing a technically perfect story. And sometimes, a story that people might call ‘unfinished’, makes me want to read on and on and on. Pritty is far from flawless, but I regularly clenched my fists while goosebumps danced on my skin, and I wanted to scream no, no, no, so many times! At those moments, I wanted to protect those boys with my life. So yeah, this story touched me deeply.

Pritty isn’t a fluffy book. It’s palpable in the first sentence, where Jay thinks Leroy is going to kill him. It’s tangible in their neighborhood with gangs and guns and shootings. It was evident on my face after only reading a quarter of the story, and tears already started to well up in my eyes. And still …

Hidden behind so many layers of rawness lies so much tenderness. The author’s note already made me swallow a lump in my throat and those sweet boys … Jay is such a gentle soul, and even though Leroy seems harder, on the inside he’s such a softie. And there was so much love in this story, not only because of the romance, but even more from family and friends like Auntie Rissa, Will, Jacob, Taj, and Princeton. The tenderness is also visible on the cover, and I love it! Two Black guys surrounded by the beauty of flowers, bright colors. The cover reminds me of Jay Coles’ Tyler Johnson Was Here, a story with similar themes.

There will be a sequel, and I can’t wait to read it! That ending! I highly recommend Pritty to all of you who love raw and intense character driven stories about teens on the cusp of adulthood and Black masculinity, in which queerness is normalized.

This was Moonlight from a YA perspective and with a more personal narrative. I enjoyed it but I really just want a Black gay love story, even in the hood, that is tender sometimes.

So for whatever reason, this book just didn’t click with me emotionally. I was engaged with the plot and everything, and I think it’s reasonably well crafted, but something was missing and I’m not entirely sure what. The book focuses on Jay and Leroy and their community as they work to protect their loved ones and fight back against the corporations trying to take over their community. One thing I really loved about this book was its focus on Black community. Everybody didn’t necessarily get along, but each character was connected to all the others. Although this is sort of presented as a romance, to me the romance was actually secondary to all these other relationships. Unfortunately, the downside of this is that the book wasn’t really long enough to do justice to all these complicated relationships, so a lot of them ended up not being as developed as I’d have liked. I wanted more of Jay’s relationship with his dad, of his mom and Rosalind’s relationship, of Leroy’s relationship with the Black Diamonds, and honestly, more of Jay and Leroy’s relationship, too – they spent most of the book not actually talking to each other at all, so the love story there felt a little bit absent. A similar problem was present with a lot of the themes of the book, as well. I wanted more about the colorism Jay faced, Rissa’s experience as a trans woman, Leroy’s relationship to writing, school, and academics, and Jay learning how to navigate his feelings for Will and Leroy. There were just so many different things going on that maybe there wasn’t room for all of them to be explored as much as they deserved. And maybe that’s why the emotional connection just wasn’t quite there for me. Plus, the pacing of the ending was way too rushed – I was genuinely shocked when Jay and Leroy got stuck in the diner and there were only around ten pages left. I think it just needed another 50-100 pages to let the story really unfold naturally while also exploring all these beautiful relationships and facets of this Black community. Still, a very compelling, well-written book.

In Pritty, Keith F Miller pulls readers into the lives of two boys on the edge of adulthood and the growing tensions of their environment. Leroy and Jay must find their way together amidst a rapidly developing conflict in their home neighborhoods in Savannah, Georgia.
Miller's vivid description and excellent characterization through both of the boys' POVs paints a tender and truthful portrait of first love, finding oneself, and all the intricacies attached. The dark, but very real, conflict that plays out throughout the course of the book adds to these intricacies and ups the stakes on this love story. From Rissa to Rouk, Miller's web of characters is strong, deeply developed, and diverse, building a whole and complex world with which the protagonists interact. Additionally, it is refreshing to read a portrayal of young, gay love that does not primarily use homophobia and self-hatred in order to add conflict.
This book is an excellent read for both teens and adults. Miller has created a beautiful story of love, with an explosive ending that is sure to leave readers eagerly awaiting his next book.

Thank you netgalley for this arc!

Let’s get one thing straight, there is so much potential here. Did I absolutely love this? No. But I didn’t hate this by any means. I really want to see more books like this, they are too far and few between. At times the plot didn’t flow but I did love our characters. Where it lacked for me, it redeemed itself with other points/scenes. Is this a series? If so, I will definitely be looking into it more. 3.75 stars.