I feel like the pacing of this was a little all over the place in the last third. I couldn't entirely tell where the story was going as it was coming to it's conclusion and tbh even after finishing the book I'm not entirely certain of what message/story this book had. It's very clearly inspired by BLM and real life events (specifically the 2014 Oakland riots). I should've figured that because it was inspired by this where a white cop killed a black kid and wasn't charged for it which lead to protests that this may have followed a similar path but I think I was wanting to see something a little bit more from this book. I understand that grief is ongoing, protesting against injustice is ongoing - at what point do you end a book that tackles topics like that? It's hard to word but I think I was just expecting a more definitive conclusion that had been built up to a little bit more.
This book is still very timely with the main topics it covers even if some of the more minor details are a little dated. Injustice involving the police seems to me like it has only gotten worse since this was written and activism because of that has increased too. It makes sense that this book was focused on someone who was directly involved in an event like that and we got to see her dealing with the aftermath and the questions it brought up for her identity and loyalties towards people. Even with a topic that probably isn't a universal experience for all of its readers, the themes of self-discovery and examining who you are and what you stand for can apply to pretty much everyone. Her introspection and conflicts with friends when their ideals and views clashed is so real to life. I did think that this book had a lot of important things to say and did so in a way that was easy to get into but sometimes not easy to read because it hit home. My only other gripe than the pacing is everything involving King. I do think that could've been developed a bit more rather than him basically being a scary stereotype that was lurking for the most part on the edge of the story. His character could've definitely been involved/developed more but I'm also a little glad he wasn't because I didn't enjoy reading about him. I'm actually shocked that this was my first Angie Thomas but I enjoyed it and I'll definitely read more by her. 3.75 ⭐