Grades 9-12 /* Starred Review */ Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two very different worlds: one is her home in a poor black urban  neighborhood; the other is the tony suburban prep school she attends and the white boy she dates there. Her bifurcated life changes dramatically when she is the only witness to the unprovoked police shooting of her unarmed friend Khalil and is challenged to speak out—though with trepidation—about the injustices being done in the event’s wake. As the case becomes national news, violence erupts in her neighborhood, and Starr finds herself and her family caught in the middle. Difficulties are exacerbated by their encounters with the local drug lord for whom Khalil was dealing to earn money for his impoverished family. If there is to be hope for change, Starr comes to realize, it must be through the exercise of her voice, even if it puts her and her family in harm’s way . Thomas’ debut, both a searing indictment of injustice and a clear-eyed, dramatic examination of the complexities of race in America, invites deep thoughts about our social fabric, ethics, morality, and justice. Beautifully written in Starr’s authentic first-person voice, this is a marvel of verisimilitude as it insightfully examines two worlds in collision. An inarguably important book  that demands the widest possible readership. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: From the moment this book  sold, it has been high-profile. An in-the-works movie adaptation will further push this to the head of the class. -- Cart, Michael (Reviewed 12/15/2016) (Booklist, vol 113, number 8, p48)