There were a few things that I did enjoy about this book including the fact that it simply focused on the friendship between Linus and Harrison. The two end up doing some pretty amazing things together while trying to avoid having to let each other go. After watching Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Harrison decides to plan a last day for Linus in honor of their friendship. In fact, Harrison plans for them to attend college together until Linus reveals that he's moving to Charleston with his dad. They are best friends and do everything together. Kings of B'more focuses on two queer Black boys who live in Baltimore by the name of Harrison and Linus. CW: parental abandonment, racism, harrasement, mental illness What I thought was going to be a book that centered Black boy joy ended up falling into the trap of showcasing the trauma of what it's like to be a Black boy in America.

Kings of B'more had so much potential and I'm slightly disappointed at the way this one turned out.

But nothing feels scarier than saying goodbye to someone you love. Harrison and Linus make a pact to do all the things-big and small-they've been too scared to do. They end up on a mini road trip, their first Pride, and a rooftop dance party, all while keeping their respective parents, who track them on a family location app, off their trail. If they won't be having all the life-expanding experiences they thought they would, Harrison will squeeze them all into their last day. To keep from completely losing it-and partially inspired by a cheesy movie-night pick by his Dad-Harrison plans a send-off la Ferris Bueller's Day Off that's worthy of his favorite person. But at the end of a shift at their summer job, Linus invites Harrison to their special spot overlooking the city to deliver devastating news: he's moving out of state at the end of the week. Which is why Harrison is grateful that he and his best friend Linus will face these things together. Standardized testing, college, and the terrifying unknowns and looming pressures of adulthood after that-it's like the future wants to eat him alive.

With junior year starting in the fall, Harrison feels like he's on the precipice of, well, everything. Two Black, queer best friends face their last day together with an epic journey through Baltimore in this magnetic YA debut by celebrated cultural critic and bestselling Here For It author R.

Kings of B'more by R. Eric Thomas