Review Detail

Roman has his life turned upside down when, amidst a scandal, his mom decides to leave LA. Roman must learn to adapt to a new lifestyle and school in the midwest. He must grapple with who he really is and whether he'll ever meet his real father.
Although I had heard some spoken poetry before, I never realized that there was a whole movement behind it. I really was enlightened on this.
I love Roman's voice in this novel and it seemed really relatable to teens. The story went rather quickly and it is fun and quick read. I enjoyed Roman as a character as his story arc was pretty dramatic. His mom did frustrate me as she seemed quite immature at the beginning of the story although she also did grow quite a bit as a person. The contrast between LA and Chicago in the story is quite unique and I enjoyed how Roman adapted to these differences.
Some things that left me wanting more was that the story was a little slow in places and there wasn't a lot of action in the story. Also, I would have liked to learn more about some of the side characters such as Roman's girlfriend. I never really got a sense of who she was.
Although, I don't think spoken word poetry is for me, I really enjoyed learning about it. I think this is a great book for teens who are looking for a constructive outlet for things they are going through.