"Anger is a gift.. Remember that." She stood. "You gotta grasp on to it, hold it tight and use it as ammunition. You use that anger to get things done instead of just stewing in it."
Six years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media's vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks.
Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals by their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration.
When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.
Goodreads: https://goo.gl/gCuzE3
Amazon: https://goo.gl/B2HXBL
A powerful, heartbreaking and important book. Anger is a Gift was a gorgeously written book that depicted a realistic picture of what teenagers are dealing with in the United States right now. It had a strong description of systemic oppression and the power dynamics that surround black and queer identities. The narration was my favourite part. Moss had a very warm and kind personality and he valued the things that he had in his life, his mom, his friends, etc. It was so nice reading from his perspective but incredibly hard as well since he had PTSD from seeing his dad being shot by the police and had anxiety and panic attacks and sometimes I had to stop reading because of how well and realistic the depictions of his attacks were. It was also a story about intersections. Moss was black, latinx, gay and had anxiety. And all his identities were vital parts of his person.
My other favourite part was the cast of characters. I felt like I could have read a book about any one of them because their characterization and their individual stories were fantastic, sometimes fun to read, sometimes they were super adorable, and sometimes it was very heartbreaking. And I was rooting for all of them. We had so many races, sexualities and disabilities and the intersections between them and they were all depicted in a very respectful and gracious way. The reality is that this book broke me. When I got to the 50% mark point I was in tears and didn't stop crying until the end. And it was so necessary for this story to be told. This book also blew me away, when I started to read it I didn't know I would be so invested in the characters and in their personal lives. I even want to cry writing this review.
I adored that we had a black latinx queer character told by an own voices perspective. Mark's point of view is so important. This is also a story about family and all the different types that we encounter throughout life. In particular, Moss' mom was so supportive and I also would want to read a book about her because you could tell that she had a lot of issues that she was trying to put aside in order to be there for Moss and if that's not an important parent figure to have in young adult I don't know what is. This book was brilliant and one of my new favourites. Please be aware that this book depicts police brutality in a very hard way to read. Make sure to look at trigger warnings before reading!
