Title: Let Me Hear a Rhyme
Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Pages: 384
Pub Date: May 21, 2019
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins
Book Source: publisher via edelweiss
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Synopsis: Biggie Smalls was right. Things done changed. But that doesn’t mean that Quadir and Jarrell are okay letting their best friend Steph’s tracks lie forgotten in his bedroom after he’s killed—not when his beats could turn any Bed-Stuy corner into a celebration, not after years of having each other’s backs.
Enlisting the help of Steph’s younger sister, Jasmine, Quadir and Jarrell come up with a plan to promote Steph’s music under a new rap name: The Architect. Soon, everyone in Brooklyn is dancing to Steph’s voice. But then his mixtape catches the attention of a hotheaded music rep and—with just hours on the clock—the trio must race to prove Steph’s talent from beyond the grave.
Now, as the pressure—and danger—of keeping their secret grows, Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are forced to confront the truth about what happened to Steph. Only each has something to hide. And with everything riding on Steph’s fame, together they need to decide what they stand for before they lose everything they’ve worked so hard to hold on to—including each other.
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*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
In 2017, I read Tiffany's book Allegedly, and I LOVED it. So, Let Me Hear a Rhyme is my second read by this author. I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as I'd hoped. I was very close to giving this 5 stars, but the plot did drag a little and the ending wasn't what I'd hoped for.
LMHAR is about three teens living in NY—Jasmine, Quadir, and Jarrell. It is also about Steph—who was recently murdered—best friend of Quadir and Jarrell, brother of Jasmine. The story is primarily centered around these three teens trying to gain fame for their dead friend/brother. More important than fame, though, is that they find Steph's lyrics so important that they really want to get them out there and make sure people remember Steph. They want to sell his music (pre-recorded, of course) to a record label and use the money to hire a private investigator to look into Steph's death. The problem? Convincing people to sign someone to a label when that person is deceased. So, they hide it and work around it. At first it works out great, but eventually things begin to get tangled and go south.
Jarrell was definitely my favorite character. I appreciated a main character that didn't fit into a mold, so to speak. He was interesting and unique. An overweight guy with multitudes of confidence; comfortable in his own skin and witty to boot. Jarrell had endless love for the ladies and wasn't afraid to say so. Brains, talent, and more. He was a mood lightener with all of the serious topics going on in this book.
Quadir lacked a little bit of substance, in my opinion, but I still think his POV was needed as it gave the story a different take on the situations going on within the book. Each of the three MC's had a little secret to share and it wouldn't have all fit together without Quadir.
Jasmine was tougher for me to like at first, and I can recognize and admit this is due to me being a white girl. Jasmine has some anti-white tendencies (which is understandable, of course) and she gets caught up with a Malcolm-X-ideals type of group that doesn't really express themselves in a healthy or productive way. They choose to be violent and that just adds to the problem. You don't put out a fire by throwing gasoline on it, yeah? Side note: Jasmine sort of reminded me of the dad from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. BUT, Jasmine does have a sort of come-to-Jesus moment in the story where she realizes she is turning into exactly what she dislikes in others and makes a decision to be a better person. So, overall, her character was great as well. My hang ups with her come from me just not being able to connect with that specific part of her character as I can never understand what it is like to be a person of color in America.
While I am in this vein, I will say that this book does highlight many social issues that have relevance. Police brutality (against POC specifically) is touched upon, which is such a major problem right now. The book also highlights how and why some people may get caught up in selling drugs (it may be the only way they see to help their family financially). It also makes you realize how important it is to choose who you trust carefully.
Before I wrap up, I just want to say how AMAZING it was to read a book set in the 90's. I am a true 90's kid/teen and I remember when Biggie was killed (they reference it a lot in this book) and I remember the music from back then and how huge it all was. It was a very nostalgic read for me!
My only real negative thing to say is that the ending was a little unfathomable for me. It wasn't good or bad, it was just TOO PERFECT. I can't really describe it without spoiling the ending. It was just too unbelievable, honestly. But, I can definitely overlook it with the rest of the book being so enjoyable and special.
Overall, I definitely found this book very hard to put down! It touches on very important and relevant issues regardless of the fact that this takes place in the 90's; it honestly just goes to show that things haven't change enough. This is a story of friendship and hardship, honestly and love. It is very special and I loved it. The characters are well built up and each one has a unique voice and story to tell, yet they all culminate into a very important thread in Steph. I recommend this one for sure!
