“Narrator Steven Taylor’s portrayal of the cocky, intelligent Marcus Hayes is arrestingly natural…Taylor matches the rhythm of Smyer’s conversational prose and hits all the humorous, shocking, and ultimately touching notes with ease.”

“By setting his novel in the ’90s, Smyer, who lives in Oakland, has crafted some brutal deja vu. As [protagonist] Marcus reflects on Rodney King, the Million Man March, and the Oklahoma City bombing, we think of Freddie Gray, Black Lives Matter, and school shootings that have become a way of life. And when Marcus laments San Francisco’s dwindling black population, here we are more than twenty years on, and it’s only gotten worse. We should all be furious.”

“A whole lot of guns, violence, and rage, as well as plenty of love and sadness.”

“This book is bold in how it treats the reader as an insider to the reality of American blackness. It can be, in turns, lyrically poignant, cynical, hilarious, and infuriating.”

“Marcus is an intelligent, acerbic, and often hilarious narrator, bringing a fresh, biting perspective to the social and racial tensions of the time.”

“Smyer gives Marcus a sardonic and hilarious voice…and endows him with a troubled psychology that plumbs the nuances of black male identity.”