Hands Up

Wow! This is the first adult novel I've read that addresses police brutality, racial profiling, and the Black Lives Matter movement. I've read The Hate U Give and Dear Martin, but those are both young adult titles and each only have one narrator. Hands Up is an adult title and features three distinct narrators; Ryan Quinn - a white cop who fatally shot an unarmed black boy, Jade - the brother of the murdered kid; and Kelly - the deadbeat father of the murdered kid who has moved back to Philly after he heard news of his son's death. Together those three narrators tell different sides of the same story and help readers realize how messy and complicated being a cop and being black can be in a city ravaged by crime. As the shooting case picks up national attention; their lives will be thrown into the spotlight and connected in ways they never thought possible. Ryan is ravaged by guilt, drinking heavily and wondering if he was right to lie about what really happened. Is it worth it? Jade is furious; she's angry at the police department who is protecting the cop and she is giving her father the cold shoulder. Kelly on the other hand is thrilled to be back in his family's lives; even if it is under horrible circumstances. If only he could get them to trust him again... A gripping police drama fraught with tension, revenge, and hope.

Dear Martin

LOVED THIS! So very timely! Fans of "The Hate U Give" and other Black Lives Matter young adult books will eat this up. Dear Martin examines, race, inequality, privilege, stereotypes, standing up for  yourself, and double standards. I could not stop listening to this audio-book, it was only four discs long and I was riveted. I had to know what happened, I got emotionally invested in this story. Justice attends a fancy private school in Atlanta and is one of the few black kids there. He's on the debate team, well liked, and dating the hottest girl in school but after he is wrongfully arrested while trying to help his girlfriend he can't stop seeing the disparities around him. The racial inequality, the snide remarks, the higher arrest rates, the differences in income, how has he never noticed all this before? Justice struggles to make sense of everything when another tragedy strikes, one that nearly breaks him. A wonderful read that challenges the listener (or reader) to really think about how far we have to go. Required reading.