The Truth of Right Now by Kara Lee Corthron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THE TRUTH OF RIGHT NOW by Kara Lee Corthron is a smart, sassy and sad book (can you tell I love alliterations?). More importantly, it is about the choices young people make, some of which are not smart, yet are part and parcel in the journey of adolescence. How does any teen know which is the right road to take, when the world is filled with possibilities, and some of these possibilities may include danger along the way? And each teen- Lily (white, privileged) and Dari (short for Dariomauritius), unpredictable, curious, an authentic artist- bring his or her own baggage and background to the relationship, and some of this baggage presents serious challenges. In addition to their emotional/psychological challenges, there is also the racial challenge, which should not be an issue at all in NYC in 2017, yet it is. How do they perceive themselves? What about the world they are in? And if each one could take back ONE thing, what would that one thing be? I have some misgivings about the ending, which felt too rushed, yet it did not diminish how engaged I was with the characters and the utterly beautiful language. A must read!

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