“Although Durham, North Carolina, is generally regarded as a prosperous city with three excellent universities and the Research Triangle Park, it also contains pockets of extreme poverty and violence. In 2007, the son of Emma Johnston (a pseudonym) was murdered, becoming one of that year’s 26 victims. When Partner set out to tell the story of the city’s gang violence, he became fascinated by Johnston’s story instead. This work is built upon their subsequent conversations and provides details from her childhood to her day to day life in a world of illegal drugs, crime and violence.”—Reference & Research Book News
