The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

It is a big issue today. I am talking about the issue of police violence and the black community.

 I am sure books have been written about it and will continue to be written.

Sixteen-year-old  Starr Carter is trying to fit in to the world around her which is poor black neighborhood  with her attendance at the fancy prep school in the suburbs.

She is living in two worlds. At school she is different than when she is in her neighborhood.

 She witnesses the shooting of her childhood friend by a white policeman who, despite her attempts to hold him responsible, gets off.

The situation places her neighborhood and her family in the midst of the struggle to get along and to get justice. She must find her voice.

This forces her to come out of her shell to become an activist. This pressure is handled very well by the author.

This young adult fiction feels sound. It is not too harsh and not too lenient of the situation.

This is Thomas’ first novel. She handles her characters well. I will look forward to her further venture into the fiction realm, should she choose to go in that direction.

This tome has received the Coretta Scott King Award and the Michael L. Printz Award for 

Excellence in Young Adult Literature from the American Library Association. So, it is one of those we should pay some attention to, I feel.

The publisher is Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins. It is 444 pages long with an acknowledgement. It retails for $18.99. I am sure you can find it cheaper online if you don’t wish to support your local bookstore. 

Swipe by Evan Angler

         This book set in the future not too long from now is a young adult book  for teens. It tells the story of  identity, of belonging to a group. All issues that young people face.  

          The story opens with a kidnapping. No one reports it. What is going on?

        What if you  saw your sister go to get marked and she never came  back? Now you are about to be thirteen and you feel you are being watched?  Why are you being watched?

Once you reach your thirteenth birthday you can get the mark on your wrist that will enable you to buy and sell without your parents authorization. You can  become your own person. Who wouldn’t want that? Everyone gets the mark. You can’t buy or own anything without it.

But you don’t want it. Do you have a choice?

There is a group of the unmarked. They must be hunted down and made to conform.

            Your best friend is acting strange. And there is that new girl who just came a few days ago from another city. She has the mark. Her dad works for the organization called Dome.

You have to find out what happened to your sister. Somehow there is a connection between the mark and her disappearance.

            This is a good beginning of a series. It shows a promise of  further adventure..

As we close the book the main character is on the run. The  building is burning. There is no turning back.

I am a reviewer for booksneeze and I received this book free from the publisher to be reviewed. I was not obligated to give it a positive review and the opinions expressed are the reviewers and not those of the publisher.