First published 2018
A young boy from the Bronx joins his day camp group at a suburban backyard pool. The water feels different here. The other kids move with an ease he doesn't recognize. Power works in ways he can't name yet, but he feels its weight. Across these nine stories, black men and boys wrestle with what they owe each other. A teenager protects his younger brother during the wild hours of J'Ouvert while trying to prove his own manhood. Two college students follow girls home from a party and face what their pursuit really means. Brothers at a capoeira conference struggle to tell their family's story without breaking under its pain. Each character reaches for connection while navigating a world where race, gender, and class shape every interaction. Their hopes don't always serve them well. Sometimes luck feels like the cruelest lie of all.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, african-american, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: Bronx, Suburban Backyard
Period: Contemporary
243 pages · Hardcover · Graywolf Press
Content warnings: racism