Two and a half stars generously rounded up to three because it was easy to read.

Being touted as The Iliad meets The Outsiders was obviously setting their sights too high. I'd say it's more [b:Blood and Chocolate|30324|Blood and Chocolate|Annette Curtis Klause|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1434755939l/30324._SY75_.jpg|895781] without the supernatural, at a stretch inspired by Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet.

The premise is that there are three gangs in San Francisco, taking part in the so-called Red Bridge Wars: the white collar and ultra-rich Herons, the working-class Boars, and Stags, which nobody knows much about. If one of the gangs wants you to join their ranks, you're recruited on your 18th birthday. The main character, Valerie, wants to join the Herons to avenge the death of her younger brother at the hands of a Boar but is instead recruited by the mysterious Stags. Valerie has an ex-boyfriend she still loves who is from a family of Herons but is equally drawn to hot douchebag with a heart of gold, Jax, the leader of the Stags. Obviously she's torn between them and there's a vague love triangle.

There's not much other plot. Exactly what you think would happen in a contemporary young adult story is there, with no attempts to subvert or play around with tropes so on that front it was rather dull. Valerie's back and forth about ex-boyfriend Matthew and Jax was uninspired but Valerie's POV in general was rather lackluster. I usually connect immediately to characters with dead brothers, but I really felt nothing here. There's an attempt to have Valerie develop relationships with other Stags but they felt a little shallow, more like tertiary characters than secondary.

There is also an attempt to put some class consciousness in the story. The Stags' raison d'être is ending the Red Bridge Wars, specifically the indiscriminate physical violence of the Boars and the careful social violence of the elite Herons, but it all falls a little flat because the Stags are a dozen people, both in their teens and barely out of them, trying to dismantle societal institutions.

Ultimately, I found it really quick and easy to read, but I couldn't really connect to any character. ( )

Definitely a romance, definitely a girl”s epic quest. I felt the book was more Romeo and Juliet with west side story mixed in. Was this a fantasy? Was this a realistic fiction? That’s what left me wondering. The ending Left me feeling like the story wasn’t over yet. There’s some on answered questions which I hope are eventually answer down the road. ( )