This is the book that my 13-17- year- old LGBTQ+ kids chose for their group read for the month of March. I always read their choice a month ahead to be sure that it's not going to cause any issues with them. Our on-site mental health professional has also read the book and given his okay for this age group and will discuss the book with them.

Possible Trigger Warnings: Police and other violence, Racism, Homophobia and Transphobia, Extreme depictions of depression, anxiety, and panic attacks.
The story is set in a working-class neighborhood of California, and tells the story of a youth of color, who is diverse in his sexuality and gender, who takes a stand and organizes to challenge the sanctioned violence that the school...with the blessing of the state...thought was a grand idea. California, by no means, is the ONLY state that has taken this stand...it's just the one state that the author was familiar with. Moss Jeffries is a student and a black teen who is still grieving for the loss six years earlier of his father by the trigger of the police. Moss struggles with self-doubt along with anxiety-induced panic attacks, and finds comfort in his new relationship with Javier, a Latinx boy who’s just as sweet as he is bold and outgoing. When the school year begins, the resource officer assaults a friend of Moss; Shawna, claiming he suspected that she had drugs...but the students and some of the teachers know that it’s really about her recent decision to fully embrace her transexual identity and her "drugs" were prescribed by her doctor. The metal detectors that the school administration recently installed had resulted in a tragic injury for their friend who was using a wheelchair. Moss and his circle of friends and students of all races and colors, felt that the administration's attitude about the incident was nothing short of appalling, and organized a peaceful protest in order to try and convince the school to "dismantle the violence" that had reared its ugly head and taken a front row seat. They started with a student walkout. They wanted to demonstrate that there would continue to be resistance, and aggrieved groups would continue to gather in solidarity, until a meaningful solution with student struggles being recognized as real and ending with love and acceptance for everyone...regardless of race, religion, or sexuality. Wanda... Moss's mother offers a line that sums the book up fairly well and what my kids based their pick on for this book to be their monthly group read and discussion. From the Book “Anger is a fragile but special gift. But you have to remember it can become a raging monster so, you gotta grasp on to it, hold it tight and use it carefully as your ammunition. You use those feelings of anger and injustice to get things done...changed...understood, instead of just stewing in it." . This is not the first book on similar topics like this for this author who sums it up by saying, "Anger is a Gift that is hella precious, and a hella dope." - I honestly believe I had more problems with the content in the book that any of my young folks will have...as Marcus... one of the 17-year-olds remarked..."This isn't fiction for some. For some people this is "their normal." I can't speak for other countries, but in the United States of America, this should NOT EVER...BE ANYONE'S "NORMAL". ( )

This book was excellent and brutal and so, so necessary. On some level I'm actually surprised it's even getting published because of how honest it is about police violence and protest - it's definitely gonna cause some pearl clutching, which is some of the highest praise I can give it. I can't wait to talk about it with folks. There's so much I want to say but can't yet because I don't want to spoil this. I will say that I especially appreciated the scenes of community and of community organizing. Community is so key, in both the broader sense, and in the tight-knit groups of friends that make up the supporting cast, not just Moss' but also his mother's. Which, speaking of, Moss and his amazing mother Wanda are now some of my favorite character in YA. Everyone needs to put this on their to-read list immediately. ( )

I don't read a lot of YA, and rarely review it when I do, but a friend specifically recommended this book to me.

The good: the book portrays important social issues with power and immediacy. The portrayal of life in an underfunded school is spot on. (The metal detectors, though. At least he explained it with the magnetic body scanner, but it still doesn't 100% make sense: they'd put such an expensive piece of equipment in a high school? Even suspending my disbelief that they would not train officers in how to use it. I get that he was trying to work in the militarization of the police, but the way it was squashed in made it feel like he hadn't done enough research on actual implementation. And ICE didn't exist when Esperanza was born.)

The bad: characterization is, for the most part, weak. The novel reads too much like Oshiro decided he wanted to write a Very Important Novel with a Very Diverse Cast. The characters lack individuality. I remember who is black, who is Muslim, who is nonbinary--but I remember very little about them as individuals, just as identities. Only Bits stuck out at all. They fit into slots in his diverse cast. Esperanza exists as a bridge between her parents (white, well off, well meaning individuals) and the diverse teens of color of Moss' world. She serves a function, but isn't enough of a person. Meanwhile, her parents exist as a plot function--the well meaning white people who betray the kids. Mr. Jacobs plays a similar role. The characters aren't afforded moral complexity--instead, the story functions as a morality play with predetermined slots. ( )

diverse teen fiction (social justice in Oakland with incidentally LGBTQA characters)
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This is one of the hardest books I have ever read in my life. I felt so uncomfortable during it and many times during some of the harder scenes, I said to myself, no way, you're exaggerating. Except I'm a white female so how do I know? I think I just wanted to excuse my feelings of discomfort and pretend that it was an exaggeration when in reality, my privilege reared its ugly head. And here I am admitting it to all of you. I think this book should be required reading. But be warned: it's brutal. It's graphic at times, it's difficult to read but for black and brown people? This is reality. This is life and we need to do better. The last line of this book destroyed me and overall, I'm going to be thinking about this for a really really long time.

Absolutely incredible work here. ( )