Although high school senior Mason Zy’Aire Tyndall has serious aspirations of being a rap star, determined “to fight to keep from becoming another hashtag,” he must juggle this ambition and determination with making sure he graduates on time. Down to the wire and needing an elective to fulfill his requirements, Mason ends up with a teacher he’s initially skeptical of: “A Caucasian teacher teaching a Black poetry class / Just don’t feel right.” But the space creates an additional pathway of creativity for him that becomes important to explore after a Black man is murdered by a police officer only a few miles away. This tragedy sparks community protest, and Mason, who later has his own encounter with the police, experiments with expressing the power of his voice. Despite feeling somewhat forced at times, Carter’s debut teems with vulnerability and shows a deep reverence for hip-hop, a genre that’s grounded in protest. The theme (and spirit) of activism is palpable, and the book includes a section of poems titled after popular hashtags that memorialize primarily Black men and boys killed by the police. At times the language and references seem dated, reflecting a missed opportunity to speak to young readers through their own colloquialisms and generation of rappers. The diverse supporting characters provide healthy tension for the story.