Let Me Hear a Rhyme

Tiffany D. Jackson is an author from Brooklyn, New York, where some of her novels, including Let Me Hear a Rhyme, are set. Her other young adult novels include Monday’s Not Coming (2018), Allegedly (2017), Grown (2020), White Smoke (2022), Whiteout (2022), and The Weight of Blood (2022). She is also the author of the children’s picture book Santa in the City (2021). Many of Jackson’s novels explore the myriad challenges that teens of color face, including segregation and racism, balancing school and work, romance, being accused of crimes, violence, and more. Jackson’s novels include different protagonists, settings, and challenges, but many of the main characters are teenagers of color who demonstrate resilience and courage in the face of adversity. Jackson has also worked in the film industry and wrote and directed a short horror film called The Field Trip (2009).

In the Afterword to Let Me Hear a Rhyme, Tiffany D. Jackson says that the novel is one of her most personal works, due to the physical setting, time period, plot details, and thematic content. Jackson says there is a lot of “her” in the novel, and she identifies with several of the novel’s characters.