Righteous

I received a galley of this book from Mulholland Books via NetGalley. It has not impacted my thoughts or opinions about this book.

Righteous picks up very quickly and I would recommend reading IQ first if you haven't already. IQ introduces and develops Isaiah Quintabe, the protagonist, and the world he lives in. Righteous takes that a step further and digs deeper into his brother's past and Isaiah's own personality while addressing serious issues like human trafficking, obsession, and gang violence. In IQ, Isaiah seems mostly saintly while in Righteous, you see more of his flaws.

The pacing of this book is great and feels cinematic, and I hope this book serves as the basis for season 2 of the upcoming TV adaptation. There are two main subplots within the story, both of which have their own timeline; when the chapters switch to the characters in one subplot, the timeline zags with it.

While I enjoyed the strong writing, I thought the plot was less exciting in Righteous than in IQ. I was more interested in the characters this go-around – Isaiah, yes, but also Cherise, Dodson, Sarita, and Manzo. Women are very much secondary to this plot and used more as devices than as real, fully developed characters.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed IQ, and I really hope Joe Ide continues with this series.