First published 2005
Jesse considers Rise his blood brother, but lately he can't figure out who Rise really is. Their friendship grows more complicated as their neighborhood becomes a war zone of drive-by shootings, brutal gangs, and hostile police. Jesse turns to his sketchbook, filling pages with drawings and portraits of Rise alongside his comic strip featuring characters Spodi Roti and Wise. Through his art, Jesse tries to understand what friendship means when loyalty gets tested by violence. He struggles to make sense of loss when the streets claim people close to him. The drawings become Jesse's way of processing the harsh lessons that come with growing up surrounded by danger. His sketchbook holds both his creative dreams and his attempt to capture the truth about the people he loves before it's too late.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, african-american, coming-of-age, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, grief
Setting: United States
Period: 21st-century
Library Binding · Quill Tree Books
Content warnings: violence