Mirkat Always Reading

Starr Carter feels as though she's divided into to selves.  There is the Starr she is in her inner-city community and the "Williamson Starr" she is at the private school she attends.  At school, she chooses her words and behaviors carefully to avoid being seen as "ghetto."

One night, leaving a neighborhood party after shots are fired in the house where it is being held, Starr and her friend Khalil are pulled over by a police officer.  The encounter with the officer goes wrong, ending with Khalil fatally shot and dying in Starr's arms.

The shooting becomes national news, and wildly differing accounts of what happened and why are quickly circulating.  Starr must make decisions about who can know she was "the witness" and what role(s) she should play.

This book is powerful and serves up equal parts drama and wit.  The characters are nuanced and feel very real.  The story moves along in a compelling way and doesn't try to end in a too-tidy manner.