Tutored -

About: Wendy Anderson and Hakiam Powell are at opposite ends of the spectrum—the social spectrum, the financial spectrum, the opportunity spectrum, you name it. Wendy lives in an all-white suburb of Philadelphia, where she’s always felt like the only chip in the cookie. Her dad, who fought his way out of the ghetto, doesn’t want her mingling with “those people.” In fact, all Wendy’s life, her father has told her how terrible “those people” are. He even objects to Wendy’s plan to attend a historically black college. But Wendy feels that her race is more than just the color of her skin, and she takes a job tutoring at an inner-city community center to get a more diverse perspective on life.

Hakiam has never lived in one place for more than a couple of years. When he aged out of foster care in Ohio, he hopped a bus to Philly to start over, but now he’s broke, stuck taking care of his cousin’s premature baby for no pay, and finding it harder than ever to stay out of trouble. When he meets Wendy at the tutoring center, he thinks she’s an uppity snob—she can’t possibly understand his life. But as he gets to know her better, he sees a softer side. And eventually—much to the chagrin of Wendy’s father and Hakiam’s cousin—they begin a rocky, but ultimately enlightening, romance.

This edgy story about a star-crossed couple features strong African American characters and sparkles with smart, quirky dialogue and fresh observations on social pressures and black-on-black prejudice.

This book was a very quick read and told of Wendy and Hakiam meeting and relating to each other from their very different upbringings. However, it lacked depth and ended abruptly and there were some story lines that needed to be closed up before it could just end with the happy for now ending.

I liked Wendy and Hakiam's characters and thought they were well written. Leesa (Hakiam's cousin) also fit into a stereotypical role and was interesting and aggravating to read about.

The author does make you feel for Malikia (Leesa's neglected daughter) and it makes you wonder how Hakiam is going to pull himself out of the ghetto or will he?

But it was mostly just bleh. Didn't keep me on the end of my seat, did not appear edgy at all and ended with quite possibly the stupidest ending possible. It needed to go on for a little longer.

I received this book from Around the World Tours. All opinions are mine