Victim

Javier Perez is a hustler from a family of hustlers, and he knows that the line between shaping the truth and flat-out lying is a thin one. He is willing to cross it. From a young age he learns how to play situations to his advantage, including how his background could open doors he never knew were there. That background includes a father who was a murdered drug dealer, a single mother short on money, and a best friend serving time for gang activity.

Told in the right way, a story like his is exactly what college admissions committees want to hear. It wins Javi a full academic scholarship to a prestigious university and brings him closer to his dream of becoming a famous writer. Once there, he keeps embellishing his life story until not a grain of truth remains. His one real link to the past is an occasional exchange of letters with his childhood best friend, Gio, who has little interest in Javi's newfound awareness of white privilege or the school-to-prison pipeline.

Soon after graduation, a viral essay turns Javi from a rising writer into a journalist at a legendary magazine, where his editors praise his "unique perspective." But Gio, more than anyone, knows who Javi really is.