I loved the idea of this book. The plot twist at the end was great. My personal favourite bit was the chapter describing how the boys at the segregated reform school, regardless of the feuds and squabbles and bullying, rallied around their representatives at the school's annual black vs. white boxing match.

But for some reason, this book just fell flat with me. Maybe the writing was too simple? It was certainly not bad, but repeatedly struck the same monotone, rather than rising and falling with the pace of the plot. The philosophical tensions between Elwood and Turner, with the echoes of Martin Luther King Jr.--"Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you."--felt a bit forced. I never really got a sense of friendship or connection between the two boys.