The Boy in the Black Suit Book Review

Good Morning Lovelies!

I’ve been a bit behind again, apologies. I’m working on catching up! Classes and class assignments have been killer lately. I’m hoping once August comes I’ll be back on track! Also I just got a new laptop: a MacBook Pro!! I’m super, super excited guys! I can’t wait to use it all the time now for blogging and my social media accounts (which you should totally be following 😉 ).

So today’s review is one of the books I read for the AZDiverse Read-a-thon I did over the fourth of July weekend. If you’re sort on time, then check out my Need to Know section for a quick summary of my review!

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this wry, gritty novel from the author of When I Was the Greatest.

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She’s got a crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.

Ownership: Borrowed from the library
Genre: YA contemporary; diverse main character
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 2015
Pages: 255
Price: $17.99 (hardcover);
Place: Amazon, B & N, Book Depository, GoodReads, IndieBound

My Rating:

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds follows Matt, a high school senior. Matt has just lost his mother to breast cancer at the beginning of the school year. He’s learning how to deal without her while also figuring out how to deal with his dad who isn’t taking the loss well. Since Matt was out of school the first few weeks, he missed his after school work assignment placement. Luckily he runs into Mr. Ray, the owner of the town’s funeral home. Mr. Ray offers Matt a part-time job at the funeral and soon Matt’s known as the kid in the black suit. But Matt doesn’t just like working at the funeral home for the money–he’s using the job for another reason too. Then he meets Lovey, a girl who’s had to deal with more pain than he has. But Lovey is strong and doesn’t cry. Matt’s drawn to her because she’s tough and maybe he wants to be tough like her.

Reynolds does such a great job with this novel. Matt’s character is well developed and I feel for him throughout the book. I loved watching Matt as he dealt with his mother’s death and his nervousness with Lovey. What I loved the most has to be the male relationships within this novel. Reynolds does a wonderful job of presenting different male relationships through Matt’s relationships with his father, Mr. Ray and his best friend Chris. Each relationship has its own dynamics. I seriously loved the bonding between Matt and Mr. Ray–seeing the parallel, but also the positive role model moments. It was so great, because a lot of adult relationships with teens (even male relationships especially) seem to be lacking in YA books. Having this representation within this book was such a great addition to this story and really made this story a 5-star read.

This novel was also a very quick read. It was an easy read which allowed me to turn pages fast and finish the novel within one sitting. Reynolds skill as a writer definitely shows throughout the book. He’s definitely an author I’ll be revisiting. His writing was clear and authentic. The pacing had some slow spots, but mainly went fast as you really got inside Matt as a character. With that said, this is definitely a character driven book more so then plot.

I also enjoyed how the book came full-circle in its plot at the end. I thought how certain things connected at the end was really well done. The ending seemed a little bit rushed which is the only draw back to the story. However, I still felt like the storyline was resolved. Reynolds does a great job of dealing with grief, coming of age, male relationships, and finding first love. Furthermore, I loved that this was a male POV. I feel like I don’t read enough male POV stories and have been always on the lookout for more books with male POVs.

If you’re looking for a good contemporary read dealing with grief and first love, I’d definitely recommend this book! Also if you’re looking for a diverse read, this is another great option that I would recommend. Reynolds does a great job of writing in an authentic voice that made Matt’s character and the secondary characters come across as authentic and believable.

• The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds follows Matt, a high school senior who is dealing with the loss of his mother and finding first love at the same time.
• Reynolds does such a great job with this novel. Matt’s character is well developed and I feel for him throughout the book. I loved watching Matt as he dealt with his mother’s death and his nervousness with Lovey. What I loved the most has to be the male relationships within this novel.
• This novel was also a very quick read. It was an easy read which allowed me to turn pages fast and finish the novel within one sitting. Reynolds skill as a writer definitely shows throughout the book. He’s definitely an author I’ll be revisiting.
• The ending seemed a little bit rushed which is the only draw back to the story. However, I still felt like the storyline was resolved.
• Reynolds does a great job of dealing with grief, coming of age, male relationships, and finding first love.
• 5 Stars! If you’re looking for a good contemporary read dealing with grief and first love, I’d definitely recommend this book! Reynolds does a great job of writing in an authentic voice that made Matt’s character and the secondary characters come across as authentic and believable.

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if you’ve read this book and your thoughts on Matt, Lovey and Matt’s male relationships! Have a favorite scene or quote? Let me know below! Also if you have any recs of books with male POVs or diverse reads, also drop a comment below or tweet me 🙂 

As always, Happy Reading!

*Disclaimer: None of my links on this post or on this blog are affiliate links. If I ever begin to participate in affiliate links, I will let you know. 🙂

Follow Me: GoodReads | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin’ | Facebook | YouTube