“Buck”-le up for Black Buck! This story is like nothing I’ve ever read before, but WHAT. 👏 A. 👏 RIDE. 👏 (Yes, you’ll be literally clapping your hands in the first few pages.) I went into it pretty blindly, and while it did take awhile for the story to really draw me in, once it did, it didn’t stop. Take a look at this Black Buck book review for more on why it came SO close to a 5-star read for me!
Black Buck book premise
Darren is 22, content with his four-years at Starbucks and his life at home in his mom’s Bed-Stuy brownstone. His mom is begging Darren to live up to his potential as the former valedictorian of Bronx Science. During a chance Starbucks encounter, a tech startup CEO sees a spark in Darren. He reluctantly seizes that opportunity to pursue a sales career.
It’s not long before Darren, who starts going by “Buck” among colleagues, is fulfilling that potential his mom, girlfriend, and others saw in him–but at what cost?
Black Buck Book Review
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At times I just wanted to scream and plead for Buck to make different choices.
“Don’t go down that path!”
“No, Buck, just stop!”
“Buck, please, listen to them.”
“Buck, please DON’T listen to them!”
However, the tale weaves takes the exact path it needs to take us on a JOURNEY. This story had better twists than a lot of thrillers I’ve read. There are heroes and villains. It’s outlandish yet totally plausible. It’s heavy yet easy to digest. I laughed (so much). I cringed, cheered, shed a few tears, and made a lot of faces that looked like this—-> 😳😖😤🥴😲 but overall, I can say that I truly loved this story. There were times where I just wanted to walk away from it. I can’t even say why, but the whole experience was so worth it.
I’ve heard several interviews with Mateo and he’s incredible. I even learned his own sales nickname (you’ll have to ask him about that SP). He’s made it pretty clear a white mom of three in West Virginia was not his target audience. However, he says he really enjoys seeing what resonates with readers he didn’t quite have in mind while he was writing Black Buck. It sounds like there are high hopes to make Black Buck screen dreams a reality. I’m excited to see how that plays out.
Black Buck is a timely satirical book about race relations, diversity in workplaces, a little bit of gentrification, and the bonds of friendship and family. It’s one you won’t want to miss in 2021. Thank you Netgalley for an eARC of Black Buck.
Other January Book Reviews
Finlay Donovan is Killing It
Thriller / Suspense Standouts
Romance Standouts