Nothing is like it used to end up being. If it were, Mama would be alive. Papa wouldn’t have died. And Charlie would still be the same kind of loving big brother to 13-year-old Lafayette, not really a hostile stranger, just back from carrying out time at a correctional facility. Oldest brother, Ty’ree, could have gone to university, instead of needing to function full-time to support the three of them. And Lafayette wouldn’t be so filled with questions, like why Mama had to expire, why Charlie hates him a lot now, and how they’re all supposed to survive these times together when so much appears to be arranged against them.

Jacqueline Woodson brings us the story of three remarkable teen men-brothers who’ve only one another to rely on and must decide whether they’ll work with that or allow it rip them apart.