... poignant and unflinching ... Wolfe has a wonderful ear for dialogue, deploying pitch-perfect vernacular and slang. And she doesn't mince her words, either ... Wolfe also leavens her narrative with the bureaucratic minutiae essential to understanding the precarious conditions facing families as Chicago transformed its public housing system.
Wolfe shows us Fe Fe’s still-tender, childlike mind...And yet, she recognizes that as a Black child, she is denied a claim on innocence ... This is a powerful novel about injustice, the institutional racism that is the foundation of the projects and their policing, and survival ... Tragic, hopeful, brimming with love, Wolfe’s debut is a remarkable achievement.
... excellent ... Told in brief chapters with a focus on descriptive, powerful language, readers who enjoyed Sandra Cisneros’ House on Mango Street will fall in love with this book ... here are successes and tragedies in this coming-of-age story which makes it all the more authentic to real life. It is hard to read it without thinking of the people we grew up with, wondering where they are, and who we would be without their influence on us when we were young ... Racism, the power of our own histories, and the regrets that shape our futures are all on gorgeous display.
... clearly written by an author who has a deep knowledge of, and affection for, the communities that once called these high-rises home. Wolfe pulls no punches when it comes to describing the violence and drug use that plagued the complex. She certainly finds fault with a bureaucracy that built this community but then utterly failed to provide the kind of support that could have alleviated these issues ... But Wolfe also offers glimpses of Fe Fe’s future (the novel is narrated by an adult Fe Fe looking back on that pivotal summer) in interesting ways. She urges readers to reflect on the positives --- that is, the remarkable people who called these buildings home and survived the trauma they unfortunately encountered there. As Fe Fe movingly reminds her brother, they are the real 'Chicago landmarks.'
First-time novelist Wolfe writes with lacerating precision and authenticity, building her reverberating tale on bedrock Black Chicago history and her own experiences growing up in this besieged community ... Wolfe’s deeply compelling characters, sharply wrought settings, and tightly choreographed plot create a concentrated, significant, and unforgettable tale of family, home, racism, trauma, compassion, and transcendence.
... heartbreaking ... Wolfe’s richly realized characters endure racism, displacement, and violence, but also experience love. Short, evocative chapters build a foreboding sense of the inevitable while FeFe is forced to reckon with harsh realities around her, among them Tonya’s mother’s crack addiction, Stacia’s gang loyalty, Meechie’s struggle to resist gang life, and other ravages of life in the project. As the destruction of their building approaches, tensions and violence rise. By the traumatic end, FeFe is left lonely and scared, but her pain pushes her to escape. Wolfe’s arresting and atmospheric narrative comes fully realized. This is a gut punch.
