The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

Matt's mom has died and his Dad has started to getting drunk every evening. Matt is reeling from it all, but is sensible enough to know that someone has to hold it together, so he goes in search of a job. He ends up finding one at the funeral that handled his mother's service.  He mortician takes him under his wing, and Matt finds it strangely comforting to see others who are suffering as much as he did when his mother died.  Then there is a car accent, and a girl, and Matt's life gets even more crazy. 

I am pretty much willing to read about anything by Jason Reynolds.  This is not one of his most famous books, but I still really enjoyed it.  He writes, understanding how gritty inner city life can be, but somehow he shows how the human soul can get through it and rise above.  His use of language is near genius, not because it is flowery, but because he captures real feelings and real language flawlessly.  I feel like his writing makes me love inner city kids who are surrounded by gangs and death and violence, but still get a charge out of their first romance, and learn to make cookies with their moms.  I am so glad Jason Reynolds became a writer. (2016, 272 p.)