True True by Don P. Hooper, deals with important topics in a realistic way. It perfectly encompasses being a teenager while having to struggle with adult real-world problems. Seventeen year old, Gil got a robotics scholarship into Augustain Prep,  a private predominantly white school, and upon his first few days he deals with racist hate speech which leads him to be blamed and put on probation because he was pushed into a bookshelf and broke it. He has to push back against the blatant racism of the students and alumni through social media and public events while having a grandma with Dementia, his dad in Jamaica, and trying equally to spread out his time to keep his friends back in Brooklyn as well as his friends at Augustin Prep. I love the realistic way it deals with relationships and racism. It doesn’t have an unrealistic surupy ending because realistically, it isn’t going to end like that when there are so many factors and so many people pushing back against change. There is a lot of representation throughout the characters and many complex characters and relationships. There is someone for everyone to relate to and see themselves in. I loved the bond between Gil and Kenya as well as the depth in Strech’s character. The well-developed plot of this non-fiction book was paced amazingly, there was always something attention-grabbing going on. This cultural coming-of-age novel will be of particular interest to those seeking a realistic, plot-packed, well-written contemporary novel. Readers who love plot-heavy or action books will love the fast pace of the novel. Readers who look for romance will appreciate the accurate semi-slow burn of the romance between Gil and Tammy as well as the nicknames between them. Readers who love the found family trope will love the friendships that are portrayed throughout the entire book with compound dynamics. All readers will love the representations throughout this book with culture, race, and sexuality. Readers who enjoy a healthy relationship with grandparents will fondly look at the relationship between Gil and his Grandmother. This review was written by a Washington Middle School student.