Book Review: Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“We didn’t know then that the practice of burying emotions created adults who’d struggle to build meaningful relationships; some of us would eventually completely forget how to access true feelings.”

In the summer of 1999, our twelve-year protagonist Felicia "FeFe" Stevens spends her days jumping rope with her three friends Precious, Shania and Tonya whom she has recently befriended, attending summer school (though she does not really have to) and keeping out of trouble under the watchful eye of her mother, who is protective of her children, FeFe and her older brother Meechie. The friends live in the Robert Taylor Homes, the housing projects in the Bronzeville area of Chicago’s South Side. FeFe is sweet and kind to others around her, befriending those who she knows has a rough time at home.

The environment in the projects is volatile with rampant incidents of gang violence and shootings, substance abuse and exploitation. The projects are in the process of being demolished and one by one the buildings are being evacuated and residents are uprooted or relocated, depending upon the terms of Lease Compliancy and criminal background or lack thereof.

“That day is cemented in my memory. We watched them knock down what we thought was indestructible. I’d learn that so many things that I thought were solid and structured in my life could be broken down, bit by bit, just like those buildings.”

The author paints a heartbreaking portrait of a community plagued by hate crimes and gang violence, poverty, addiction and abuse through the eyes of a twelve-year-old who sees her life as she knew it and her friendships disintegrating in front of her own eyes. What saves her from a fate that would seem inevitable is the fierce protection of her mother and the positive influence of Mama Pearl and her teacher, Mrs. Pierce at school, a place she dubs “a refuge in a season of life when we needed to take cover”. Decades later, she is still haunted by the violence and loss she had witnessed as a child. As the narrative progresses, we, along with FeFe learn of the fate of her friends in the aftermath of their last summer on State State. As we follow FeFe’s life through the decades it is obvious that the events of the summer of 1999 have played a large role in the choices she has made, choosing a career that would emulate the positive influences she had in her formative years.

“We will meet people; they will transform us. We will see things that will age us.”

In short, Toya Wolfe’s Last Summer on State Street is a stunning debut. Toya Wolfe writes with heart and insight. This is a profoundly moving story of family, friendship, resilience and survival. Part coming of age, part family drama and social commentary of the times, this is a book that pulls you in and stays with you.