... a memoir, a double bildungsroman, and a murder mystery. By combining these forms, it goes deeper than any one of them could.

An examination of gun violence, trauma, and the communities they indelibly mark, Little Brother is an affecting tribute to Jorell and other young Black men whose lives are cut devastatingly short..

Employing his journalistic skills and connections to solve the crime, the author exposes the failures of the justice system when it comes to young Black men. The narrative struggles at times with Westoff’s inability to decenter himself from Cleveland’s lived experience.

Thought-provoking.

Westhoff worked to find answers, and he recounts his quest in diligent yet sometimes stultifying detail.