A review by cupidities
Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It's an insidious thing. It never happens overnight. This kind of thing crept into our community long ago. It latched on. It fed on prejudice. Selfishness. People's inability to see life through someone else's eyes. And it grew, bigger and bigger, until we got to a point where some people don't even question why a cop should be allowed to shoot first and ask questions later.

Anger Is a Gift is a dense read - it's full of detail, full of emotion and reflection, full of conflict and growth. It captures the burden of filling a highly visible role in organizing action: the emotional and psychological toll, the weight of carrying a responsibility to the community, the threats and criticism from people who don't understand the importance of this work. This is the first young adult book I've ever read that shows the work that goes into organizing and participating in movements and actions, that shows that actions don't happen without planning and protocols for protecting participants. 

Moss, over the course of the book, stops letting people from positions of privilege and power get away with distancing themselves from the results of their actions. Many characters from a variety of backgrounds are forced to confront the ways that their actions have hurt the people around them. They aren't let off the hook for having good intentions: instead, Moss shows all of them how their actions have compounded injustice and systems of inequity. 

This is also a deeply emotional read, and Moss doesn't get a tidy, happy resolution. Readers will feel the weight he and his loved ones take on and the price they pay to work toward justice. There is hope, but there is also pain, loss, and grief. 
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