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Medina Brown is the daughter of an American man and a Turkish woman. Born in her namesake city, she grows up in the fictional town of Joseph, Illinois, an hour east of St. Louis, two west of Indianapolis. She meets Kevin Foster in kindergarten. Immediately best friends, they grow up together. He lives two blocks down. They're part of each other's families. He becomes her biographer.
Kevin records: She was extraordinary, superior, and I was... an adjunct, a plus one? No, that's not fair. She was driving and I was her passenger. That's better. She did love me too. How would she describe her feelings, describe me, if she were writing this?
Medina is energetic, attractive, participatory, electable. Where she looks, others gaze; where she goes, they charge; where she works, they labor. Her actions first help others, first share resources, first raise the less fortunate to her level. She makes many friends, some enemies. Her popularity is vast, not universal.
Twenty-first century politics shape their lives - bullies, violence, internet accusers, and homophobic trolls, who insist, despite contrary evidence, Kevin is gay.
The book, emblematic of these messy and disheartening times, explores gender dynamics and hate, while building to multiple conclusions: the consummation of Medina's and Kevin's relationship; the pinnacle of her fame and popularity; the long-brewing clash with increasingly-racist (and sexist) detractors; and the culmination of her political campaign.
By the end, you'll find yourself hoping your search engine can pull Joseph out of the Southern Illinois landscape. Maybe a drive... Maybe on August 10th. Yeah, Roosevelt Square on Medina Brown Day. I'm there!
This is a full-blooded, old-school novel, meaty and memorable, intensifying as the account progresses toward its conclusion. Long after you've closed the cover, you'll find yourself wondering about the culture you live in.
