Content Warning: This section discusses racism, substance use, and physical abuse.

Paul Langan explores the dreams and challenges of a Black teenager living in a predominantly Black urban neighborhood. Langan seeks to provide a realistic portrayal of teenage life and the social issues that drive youth experiences. Lionel, the story’s protagonist, lives in an inner-city neighborhood described as plagued by gang violence, drugs, and poverty. Lionel’s psyche is impacted by his social environment: He feels powerless at the inequities around him, which fuels his rage. His family is economically disadvantaged, and Lionel hates that his father must work all week and that his mother took a military job overseas to make ends meet. Lionel is also traumatized by violence in the community; he experienced nightmares as a kid after the shooting of one of his neighbors. His distress makes him feel that the world has “too much news, too many choices, too much chaos” (44). The social context of the novel is thus key, suggesting that issues like discrimination and economic disparities impede Lionel from achieving his dreams.

Lionel’s educational struggles are another large social issue explored in the novel.