How Are You Going to Save Yourself

June 18, 2018
In Holmes’s crackling debut of interconnected stories, Dubs, Rolls, Rye, and Gio are four young black men growing up in Rhode Island. The main character is Gio, born to a one-time pro footballer father and an Italian mother, who is also the one who “makes it,” leaving for college at Cornell and befriending the kind of moneyed youth who “live like some fucking rappers,” in Dub’s words. Stand-
outs include the first story, “What’s Wrong with You? What’s Wrong with Me?,” in which a seemingly jocular question from Dub about how many white women they have all slept with leads to the confrontation of some uncomfortable truths for Rolls, and “Toll for the Passengers,” in which Gio is forced to make some difficult decisions when an RV full of drunk college students hits a car on his street and his cousin Isaac escalates the situation. For all his excellence, however, Holmes does not write female characters with the same nuance he affords his male characters, and readers will wish that characters like Gio’s little sister, Whit—who is excellent in “Outside Tacoma”—or Tayla, the high school girl Rolls meets in “Be Good to Me,” were given more page space. Nevertheless, Holmes proves his ability to navigate vulnerability, as well as his fearlessness in tackling tense situations head-on, all of which combines for a collection of superb stories.

Starred review from June 15, 2018

This provocative story cycle follows a group of young black men--Gio, Rolls, Rye, and Dub--from a rundown area of Pawtucket, RI, as they grow into adulthood. Gio, who narrates many of the stories, is mixed race and has a father who played in the NFL. He has the best prospects of the four, despite his parents' divorce and his father having mostly exhausted his football money, as he is able to attend Cornell and earn a degree in English. Rolls, the son of a photography store owner, has some success as a painter, exhibiting in a number of galleries. Rye, with his own disappointed NFL dreams, eventually becomes a fireman and is severely injured fighting his first fire. Dub, meanwhile, has the most difficulty finding his way as he moves aimlessly from job to job, and by the end of "Dress Code," has been fired from a telemarketing position and faces feelings of envy and resentment as his girlfriend Simone achieves a degree of success. VERDICT These stories are as powerful and tough-minded as the realities of race, class, and identity the characters confront. Holmes depicts troubled lives with candor and compassion. A notable debut. [See Prepub Alert, 2/11/18.]--Lawrence Rungren, Andover, MA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
In interconnected short stories, Holmes' debut breathes life into a group of friends who are simultaneously trying to shake off their past and honor it. Dubs, Rolls, Rye, and Gio grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, doing normal teen things like trying to get with girls and finding their next high. It is also where they deal with broken families and bouts of violence, as both victims and perpetrators. Gio, who functions as the main character, struggles with his mixed race, as evidenced during a holiday cookout with his extended white family where he argues with his cop uncle about police brutality. But Gio's background also affords him opportunities unavailable to his three friends. Holmes' writing is fresh, and his dialogue rings true. He doesn't shy away from difficult subject matter or from showing his characters' flaws, which makes for some incredibly tough scenes to read, but also highlights the everyday travails of black men in America. Readers looking for timely, nuanced fiction about race and masculinity should definitely pick this up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)