RIDE OR DIE

Self-involved, self-destructive Loli seeks thrills and chaos, but one mystery adventure carries her kicking and screaming to the point of self-reflection.

High schooler Naloli Tamryn Crawford is bored with life in Woolridge Grove, where there are few other Black girls. Doting best friends Ryan Pope, who reads White, and Cairo Dahmani, who is Moroccan, enable her shenanigans. When Loli decides to throw an impromptu rager at an ex-boyfriend’s house, few questions are asked before they’re onboard with what becomes a historical event. So Loli never has to reveal that the party is actually a ruse to right a wrong before it’s revealed and can break Ryan’s heart. Still, the party changes everything as, among other rumored happenings, Cairo is tapped to become a supermodel, Ryan experiences a moment that puts his sexuality in question, and Loli becomes entangled in a risky competition with an appealing but anonymous individual. Like the accompanying playlist that punctuates the story’s beats with song titles naming chapters, the novel uses tropes compellingly. Loli hates cliché, but even she would have to accept that her budding romance with the Mysterious Voice from the party proves to be as predictable as it is dangerous. And ultimately that’s the rub: Loli pursues being interesting in ways that often make her anything but and selfishly puts her relationships in jeopardy, but the novel doesn’t offer much depth as to why, which may frustrate readers.

An imperfect protagonist—and novel—with a lot of charm.