"Three Mexican-Americans--Juan, JD, and Fabi--each try to overcome their individual struggles as they all grapple with how to make a better life for themselves when it seems like brown lives don't matter"-- Provided by publisher.

Juan plans to get out of El Paso, Texas, on a basketball scholarship and make something of himself. His best friend JD has plans to be a filmmaker one day; he's got a camera and passion, what else could he need? Juan's mom, Fabi, doesn't have a plan anymore. When you get pregnant at sixteen and have been stuck bartending to make ends meet, you realize that there are some things you just can't plan for. Like Juan's run-in with the police, a sprained ankle, and a tanking math grade. Like JD causing the implosion of his family. Like letters from a man named Mando on death row.