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betweentheshelves's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It took me a long time to get to this book, but I'm so glad I finally did. This is such a powerful book, with a lot of great, diverse representation. It's not an easy read, especially since this was published three years ago and so many of the issues are still prevalent. Anger Is a Gift is definitely a must-read for anyone who likes activist fiction in YA, especially activist fiction that feels incredibly realistic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Cursing
alisazhup's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
-Not a fan of how this author wrote their disabled character
-Some things just seemed like technological inaccuracies.The whole metal detector part was not the most believable to me
-The main characters weren't exactly one dimensional, but they were written as perfect and faultless (except for Esperanza) which made for boring reading sometimes. It was hard to connect with anyone
I liked the diverse cast of characters, the social justice plot, andthat the end wasn't wrapped up in a perfect bow . I know some people say that it was unrealistic for Moss and his friends to experience no homophobia, especially at school, and I agree, but I don't think it's a flaw. It's actually refreshing to read about someone who uses they/them pronouns, for example, and is never misgendered or deadnamed.
-Some things just seemed like technological inaccuracies.
-The main characters weren't exactly one dimensional, but they were written as perfect and faultless (except for Esperanza) which made for boring reading sometimes. It was hard to connect with anyone
I liked the diverse cast of characters, the social justice plot, and
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Ableism, Cursing, and Misogyny
wintersolace's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
A good read and a look into relevant topics such as racism, including systemic racism, and police brutality. Inclusive cast of characters as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Transphobia
gracew's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book, like T.H.U.G. and Dear Martin and All American Boys focuses heavily on police brutality and the murder of people of color by the police. This book feels extremely realistic and painful the way those books of a similar theme feel. This book adds a layer because the main character is queer, so there is also a strong focus on intersectionality that I don't see a lot of in similar books. There were times when the book dragged a little, where the plot didn't move as quickly as I would have liked. But overally, this is an absolutely remarkable book that I'm so glad exists in the world. I cannot wait to read this authors next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Racism
Be warned please that this book deals heavily with police brutality, particularly involving police in schools and death at the hands of police.booksthatburn's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Anger Is A Gift begins as a romance in the middle of a terrible situation and shifts into depicting personal and communal rage at racism (systemic and specific) and police brutality as that situation is escalated by the school under the excuse of protection and safety
It begins with new happiness in the midst of living on after trauma and then slowly veers into (fully justified and well-portrayed) anger and rage because systemic racism and police brutality don't pause. Because there's a significant change in the tone partway through, I'm going to talk about the book as two distinct sections.
Early on the newly budding romance is tender and light, hesitant but heartfelt in a way that came up off the page. The dynamic between Moss and Javier was really cute and I loved all their scenes together. Moss has a lot of friends, and it can be tough to convey distinct personalities for everyone very quickly but this handled that really well. Just in case anyone read this and felt that it was unrealistic for so many kinds of queer kids to be hanging out together, please know that's really common, and often happens even if none of us know we're queer at the time. It made me really happy to see this group of kids who figured out enough early enough to get to be themselves with their peers while still in school. There's also a lot of discussion about the problems at the school, problems that have been going on for years and just keep getting worse due to various kinds of systemic racism, the most immediate of which is a lack of funding.
Partway through the book turns due to a change of policy at the school which permanently injures at least one student. The shift in tone felt more like a change in emphasis at first, as it became apparent that this wasn't just a romance in the midst of unjust events, but actually a book about that situation and those events. The escalation from there was really well handled as a story. This is the part where it doesn't say right to say I loved specific bits of the plot, because I didn't love them and I wasn't supposed to. They're terrible events and the book doesn't give a solution for them, but that was the whole point. It conveyed helplessness and rage at injustice, both systemic and specific.
Book CWs for racism, police brutality, murder, descriptions and depictions of police tactics during a protest.
It begins with new happiness in the midst of living on after trauma and then slowly veers into (fully justified and well-portrayed) anger and rage because systemic racism and police brutality don't pause. Because there's a significant change in the tone partway through, I'm going to talk about the book as two distinct sections.
Early on the newly budding romance is tender and light, hesitant but heartfelt in a way that came up off the page. The dynamic between Moss and Javier was really cute and I loved all their scenes together. Moss has a lot of friends, and it can be tough to convey distinct personalities for everyone very quickly but this handled that really well. Just in case anyone read this and felt that it was unrealistic for so many kinds of queer kids to be hanging out together, please know that's really common, and often happens even if none of us know we're queer at the time. It made me really happy to see this group of kids who figured out enough early enough to get to be themselves with their peers while still in school. There's also a lot of discussion about the problems at the school, problems that have been going on for years and just keep getting worse due to various kinds of systemic racism, the most immediate of which is a lack of funding.
Partway through the book turns due to a change of policy at the school which permanently injures at least one student. The shift in tone felt more like a change in emphasis at first, as it became apparent that this wasn't just a romance in the midst of unjust events, but actually a book about that situation and those events. The escalation from there was really well handled as a story. This is the part where it doesn't say right to say I loved specific bits of the plot, because I didn't love them and I wasn't supposed to. They're terrible events and the book doesn't give a solution for them, but that was the whole point. It conveyed helplessness and rage at injustice, both systemic and specific.
Book CWs for racism, police brutality, murder, descriptions and depictions of police tactics during a protest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Racism
Moderate: Child death and Death
CW for ableism, racism, police brutality, murder, descriptions and depictions of police tactics during a protest.