The Boy in the Black Suit

Anything Jason Reynolds writes is gold and The Boy in the Black Suit is no different. Initially it was a little difficult for me to read because it opens up with Matt's mother dying and that hit really close to home for me - but in a way it made me closer to that character. Matt's mother has just died from breast cancer and now it's on him to start his senior year of high school. He's a few weeks late  starting so he loses his after school job he had lined up. He considers applying at his favorite greasy spoon, The Cluck Bucket, but is convinced by the local funeral home director, Mr. Ray, to work from him instead. It seems a little morbid working at the place that just helped bury his mom, but Matt finds it a little soothing. He gets comfort in seeing how other people grieve; he knows he isn't alone in his grief. Soon the funeral home is the best part of his day and he's started wearing a black suit every day to school. Then he meets Lovey, she's gone through more heartbreak than anyone he knows and he's drawn to her, she has such a light about her and she doesn't cry. He is at once intrigued and enamored. A wonderful story.