A short book, a compact explosive device, and a brisk eye-opening narrative . . . Atangana Bekono gives voice to the voiceless, but also exposes the moral rot and racist foundations of a society too complacent and oblivious to care.

New York Journal of Books

A tightly wound, forcefully lyrical debut novel by an award-winning Dutch poet . . . A psychological mystery whose solution resides in self-discovery.

Kirkus Reviews

Salomé's sharp, voice-driven narration captures the tedium and frustrations of her sentence as well as the depth of her adolescent angst. The slow revelation of Salomé's crime maintains tension throughout. The final act, which chronicles her release, interweaves her feelings, thoughts, and memories from before and during her incarceration to skillfully portray the difficulty of returning to life on the outside. This one's hard to put down.

Publishers Weekly

Lyrical . . . perfect for readers who value in-depth characterization. Salomé struggles with the quirks of teenagehood, a troubled home life, and the politics of navigating a world where underlying racist views are treated as normal and acceptable. In her complex and intricate first novel, Atangana Bekono does a fantastic job of exploring the internal conflict of wanting to fit in while also hoping to hold society to account.

Booklist

Deep and meditative, this book weaves through multiple themes to deliver a pinpoint gut punch to the reader.

Debutiful

This debut centers on a mixed heritage teenage girl in a juvenile detention center in the Netherlands [who] refuses to play the games of the racist, carceral system she must endure. Atangana Bekono handles violent content with care and explores themes of family, identity, carcerality and dreams.

Ms.