November 29, 2021
The incisive if uneven latest from de Leon (A Spy in the Struggle) follows a young female rapper headlining her first national tour. After a more established rapper bows out of a tour, up-and-comer Deza Starling gets the headliner spot on an all-female tour. On the road, she struggles with self-doubt and battles misogyny (a Rolling Stone article portrays her as a “sexy girl with no substance, who was way out of her league,” when in actuality her fans are catching onto her raw and confrontational lyrics). One of her songs becomes a hit and earns her the name “Queen of Urban Prophecy,” but Deza isn’t sure she can keep up with the title. As the tour goes on, a romance develops with a DJ. Then, after the record company adds a male duo to headline over Deza, she fights to keep her focus. Flashbacks convey Deza’s difficult childhood, and as the tour goes on she takes various political stands. The author tries to harmonize a coming-of-age story, commentary on the music industry, and romance, but doesn’t quite hit the mark, even if the drama is often entertaining. This does a good job showing a young woman finding her voice amid adversity, but the uneven narrative lessens the impact. Agent: Jenni Ferrari, Union Literary.
December 15, 2021
De Leon's (A Spy in the Struggle, 2021) latest excellent novel offers a view into the world of hip-hop from a female star's perspective. Deza's latest track makes her famous because people believe she prophesied a young girl's shooting death. She is invited to headline a female hip-hop tour, which involves her working with local DJ Damian. His ability to draw on the local styles on each of their tour stops inspires her to write new lyrics. Flashbacks throughout the book reveal Deza's challenging childhood with a resentful mother and angry father and how she was moved to express her feelings in music. Her time on tour shows her just how unfair and misogynistic the music industry can be, but she also learns how to respond in a way that retains her self-respect. When an ex-boyfriend and former mentor tries to take advantage of her, she knows how to handle it and how to plan for future success. Talented wordsmith De Leon infuses power and impact into her prose and her protagonist's verses.
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