Your Corner Dark
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“One of those tales that ties you up, turns you inside-out, wrings you like a wet cloth.” —Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down
American Street meets Long Way Down in this searing and gritty debut novel that takes an unflinching look at the harsh realities of gang life in Jamaica and how far a teen is willing to go for family.
Things can change in a second:
The second Frankie Green gets that scholarship letter, he has his ticket out of Jamaica.
The second his longtime crush, Leah, asks him on a date, he’s in trouble.
The second his father gets shot, suddenly nothing else matters.
And the second Frankie joins his uncle’s gang in exchange for paying for his father’s medical bills, there’s no going back...or is there?
As Frankie does things he never thought he’d be capable of, he’s forced to confront the truth of the family and future he was born into—and the ones he wants to build for himself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Jamaica, "so bankrupt it could hardly afford hope," Franklyn Green, nearly 18, dreams of an engineering scholarship to the University of Arizona. Preparing to leave the small town of Troy, Frankie must recalibrate when his widowed father, Samson, is hit by a stray bullet at an election party thrown by Frankie's uncle Joe. Considering the hatred between his father and uncle, and with no other option, Frankie joins Uncle Joe's gang to pay for his father's life-saving treatment. As he navigates this new life, Frankie starts dating his private school classmate Leah, the artistic daughter of a corrupt cop who works with his uncle. But after saving his best friend, Winston, from a rival gang, "posse life" becomes lethal, and as the election draws near, a turf war begins to drag Frankie in, threatening everyone he knows. Jamaican-born author Hall adeptly presents Frankie's constant battle between the life he's dealt and the life he desires. While his portrayal may leave a cutthroat impression of Jamaica without clear context, Hall offers vivid imagery, genuine dialogue, and a powerfully persistent protagonist in this fast-paced debut. Ages 14–up.
