Pritty
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
2024 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist
2025 Rainbow Book List
Concrete Rose meets Things We Couldn’t Say in Pritty, a debut novel by Keith F. Miller Jr.—the inspiration behind the forthcoming animated short film of Kickstarter fame—that follows two boys who get caught in the crossfire of a sinister plot that not only threatens everything they love but may cost them their own chance at love.
On the verge of summer before his senior year, Jay is a soft soul in a world of concrete. While his older brother is everything people expect a man to be—tough, athletic, and in charge—Jay simply blends into the background to everyone, except when it comes to Leroy.
Unsure of what he could have possibly done to catch the eye of the boy who could easily have anyone he wants, Jay isn’t about to ignore the surprising but welcome attention. But as everything in his world begins to heat up, especially with Leroy, whispered rumors over the murder of a young Black journalist and long-brewing territory tensions hang like a dark cloud over his neighborhood. And when Jay and Leroy find themselves caught in the crossfire, Leroy isn’t willing to be the reason Jay’s life is at risk.
Dragged into the world of the Black Diamonds—whose work to protect the Black neighborhoods of Savannah began with his father and now falls to his older brother—Leroy knows that finding out who attacked his brother is not only the key to protecting everyone he loves but also the only way he can ever be with Jay. Wading through a murky history of family trauma and regret, Leroy soon discovers that there’s no keeping Jay safe when Jay’s own family is in just as deep and fighting the undertow of danger just as hard.
Now Jay and Leroy must puzzle through secrets hiding in plain sight and scramble to uncover who is determined to eliminate the Black Diamonds before someone else gets hurt—even if the cost might be their own electric connection.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Booksmart 17-year-old Jay Dupresh has one goal: get a full-ride scholarship to Northwestern to honor his older brother, who gave up his college dreams to help support their financially struggling family. On top of his collegiate desires, however, Jay also struggles with the need to be accepted and liked. After a charged encounter with 18-year-old Leroy, the younger brother of the Black Diamonds gang's leader, who intervenes when homophobic bullies target Jay, the two develop an electric friendship that soon blossoms into tentative courtship. Meanwhile, Leroy is wrestling with his own challenges: a run-in with a biased teacher sees Leroy on the verge of expulsion, so he recruits Jay's help in applying for a GED program. But when an unexpected attack leaves both boys injured, it becomes evident that there are greater threats to their fledgling relationship than a mutual fear of rejection. Miller's debut is laudable for its intimate portrayal of a Black community combatting systemic violence by creating their own institutions of support via the Black Diamonds, whose initially intimidating outward reputation begets a collaborative organization devoted to protection. Moreover, Miller sketches a panorama of queer Black characters who, even under threat, not only survive but thrive. Ages 13–up.
