I generally enjoy Jason Reynold's writing style and the themes he addresses in his books for young adults. While this didn't completely wow me, I recognize that I'm not the target audience, and I hope it does wow teen readers. Neon is a vulnerable Black teen, and there's so much value in having characters like him as the center of a YA book. I also loved the examples of Black families and relationships that are presented. 

The format of this book, telling the story backwards, is interesting but also risky. I thought the idea was cool, but it ended up making it harder for me to follow and really fall into the story. I was tempted to go to the end and read it "backwards" meaning in order of how it really happened.