I read this right after I read Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me, and while both books feature an urban setting rife with simmering tension and explosive anger, I think reading that powerful and moving novel made this one seem just a touch . . . lackluster. That's not to say that Hobbs didn't spin an intriguing tale about his college roommate; it just lacked the emotion and vibrancy of Coates's novel. 
 To start, Rob Peace, or Shawn, as he was known to his childhood friends and family, was the very picture of rising above your means: a brilliant kid who grew up in the projects of Orange, NJ and "lost" his father early into his childhood. Close to both his mother, who works herself to the bone ensuring that her curious and bright son gets the education he needs to make a life for himself, and his father, who remains incarcerated for the majority of Rob's life, Rob shows his ingenuity early on both with his precocious argumentative logic and the methodical way he makes money doing odd jobs and leaving at least half of his earnings to his mother. He develops into a dedicated and driven young man, excelling in athletics and academics at his private school and impressing one generous donor so much he decides to give Rob a blank check to any college he desires - the first and last of such offers the donor makes. He also reveals a less "nerdy" persona, who is "Newark-proofed" and tough, having tumbled with other boys his age and frequently partakes in alcohol and marijuana. Upon arriving at the Ivy gates, Rob finds himself in an environment that he doesn't wholly enjoy, surrounded by the rich and privileged kids oozing with entitlement - one such being the author himself, who ignorantly doesn't realize that simple responsibilities like leaving your dishes in the cafeteria instead of busing them result in the dining staff having to pick up after you. 
 Rob experiences the typical post-college anxiety - though perhaps more coolly than the average graduate - as he figures out what to do with his fancy Ivy League degree. He ends up back in his old neighborhood, shunning his Ivy League background in order to fit back into his neighborhood while drifting from one blue collar job to another. 
 Rob's life and the choices he made in his adulthood leave me a little bewildered and confused. Though Hobbs's book often reads like a piece of fiction, what with his optimistic depictions of everyone's thoughts - seeing Rob's choices and decisions unravel quickly place you in the realm of reality. In the movies and biopics, you only ever see the kids who come out of harsh environments and childhoods go on to make miracles and start foundations and better the world in every way, shape, and form. 
 That's not Rob. Though he earns every A he gets in high school and at Yale University, Rob's not a perfect guy. He's affectionate, bestowing any money he has on his family and friends, charming most anybody who gives him half a minute, providing an attentive ear and caring shoulder to his female friends, watching his male friends' backs, addressing his mother as "his heart." But he also intentionally screws up his romantic relationships and treats the women he's involved with romantically like dirt, deals marijuana, stubbornly ignores the one friend who will call him out for dealing drugs, and squanders his potential. He's a real man, who had real problems, who affected real lives. 
 Ultimately, I think Hobbs's goal was to reveal Rob's dynamic character and convoluted life, though it's interesting how Hobbs himself seemed to know very little about Rob until writing his biography. There are not really any big picture themes. In the end, it's an ode to an interesting, multi-dimensional guy and the tragedy of his death - a tragedy compounded by the complexity of Rob's having caused, or at least instigated, the set of circumstances that resulted in his death.