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Last Summer on State Street
Last Summer on State Street | Toya Wolfe
7 posts | 9 read | 15 to read
For fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Brit Bennett, a striking coming-of-age debut about friendship, community, and resilience, set in the housing projects of Chicago during one life-changing summer. Even when we lose it all, we find the strength to rebuild. Felicia "Fe Fe" Stevens is living with her vigilantly loving mother and older teenaged brother, whom she adores, in building 4950 of Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes. It's the summer of 1999, and her high-rise is next in line to be torn down by the Chicago Housing Authority. She, with the devout Precious Brown and Stacia Buchanan, daughter of a Gangster Disciple Queen-Pin, form a tentative trio and, for a brief moment, carve out for themselves a simple life of Double Dutch and innocence. But when Fe Fe welcomes a mysterious new friend, Tonya, into their fold, the dynamics shift, upending the lives of all four girls. As their beloved neighborhood falls down around them, so too do their friendships and the structures of the four girls' families. Fe Fe must make the painful decision of whom she can trust and whom she must let go. Decades later, as she remembers that fateful summer--just before her home was demolished, her life uprooted, and community forever changed--Fe Fe tries to make sense of the grief and fraught bonds that still haunt her and attempts to reclaim the love that never left. Profound, reverent, and uplifting, Landmarks explores the risk of connection against the backdrop of racist institutions, the restorative power of knowing and claiming one's own past, and those defining relationships which form the heartbeat of our lives. Interweaving moments of reckoning and sustaining grace, debut author Toya Wolfe has crafted an era-defining story of finding a home -- both in one's history and in one's self.
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DebinHawaii
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Short yet powerful coming of age story about 12-year-old (Felicia) Fe Fe & the last summer spent with her friends & family in the Robert Taylor housing projects in Chicago & how their lives were irrevocably changed. The writing is evocative & amazing especially from a debut novel. It isn‘t an easy read, (TWs for gang & sexual violence & abuse) but it‘s a good one & one I‘ll be thinking about. Tagged for fans of Jacqueline Woodsen for good reason.

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FelinesAndFelonies
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This was my favorite book of the summer. At just over 200 pages, it packed in a lot of story & a lot of feelings. The story takes place in the summer of 1999 on the Southside of Chicago. Fe Fe Stevens lives with her mom & older brother in the Robert Taylor Homes. Before the summer ends, Fe Fe's life & community will have been changed forever. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ruthiella Great photo! Perfect color composition! 👍 6mo
FelinesAndFelonies @Ruthiella thank you. 🤗 6mo
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MsLeah8417
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Hooked_on_books
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Fe Fe is 12 and lives in the Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project in Chicago that is being gradually torn down. This details a summer of violence, fear, friendship, and the making and fracturing of bonds. It‘s a tough read but a good one.

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BookNAround
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I picked this one off the shelf to read while I pack up a bunch of other books to send home from vacation (I‘m not leaving yet but I‘m sending some bags home with my son to save on my car‘s suspension 😂).

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Christine
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LOVED this. Comparisons to Jacqueline Woodson feel right to me - yes, in the portrayal of Black girlhood and addressing very hard realities, but also in the stunning writing. This has an incredible Chicago sense of place that makes me want to read more about the history of the Robert Taylor Homes. And after this plus some previous listens, Shayna Small is now on my list of most loved audiobook narrators - she‘s just excellent.

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JoyBlue
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This debut is important, but not easy. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#last-summer-on-state-street