THE RIGHT WAY TO GO

In this novel, a Miami teen finds himself entangled in false accusations and gang violence.

High school basketball star Xavier “Zay” Dunn’s life crumbles with no warning. After leading his team to a championship victory, he gets the terrible news that his mom has died in a car accident. And trouble, as Zay soon learns, has been brewing even before this tragedy. His gang-affiliated best friend, Malik “Baby Man” James, anticipates a rival group’s attack somewhere on neutral ground. Sure enough, bullets fly at the most unexpected place, and Zay and Baby Man fight to steer clear of gunfire. Meanwhile, Zay’s love life is no less turbulent, as his casual hookup at a club leads to an unfounded charge of rape. In the midst of all this, he stumbles on a potential relationship with 20-something Bobbie, but a secret of hers may make them reluctant to pursue their romance further. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one hiding something, as one person’s past threatens to hurt Zay in the present. Butler’s story is often uncompromising, loaded with violent scenes and racial slurs (though voiced by and aimed at characters of color, like Zay). But the author’s animated prose implies simmering violence more than it focuses on brutal moments—tears that hit “like bullets” and one man’s volatile “fire of pain.” The cast, meanwhile, is soundly developed, as Zay’s first-person narration periodically shifts to others’, including Baby Man and Bobbie. These characters make deep connections or harbor overwhelming guilt from something they’ve done years ago. Many of the narrative perspectives also spark surprising turns involving both the rival gangs and Zay’s impending rape trial. But the final act, which unfolds in a courtroom, is so frenetic that it’s not entirely convincing.

A sharp, well-written, and unrelenting work of urban fiction with a knotty finale.