Anger is a Gift

by Mark Oshiro

A Tom Doherty Associates Book, TOR Teen, Macmillan Publishing Co.

2018

Halfway through reading, I didn’t want to finish this book except, I needed to know that Moss, our main character, turned out okay. So here you have a perfect example of why the reader needs to care about your character. 

My thoughts then were to rate the novel a B. An A for story, diversity, LGBTQ, telling a story that doesn’t get shared often enough…if at all. But I averaged that with a C for writing style. I’ve changed my mind, so read on.

Moss, our 16-year-old protagonist, lost his dad to a San Francisco police officer in a case of mistaken identity, several years earlier. Now in High School, Moss is confronted with police brutality toward himself and his high school friends. The teens know they have to do something to speak out. Here I must applaud Oshiro. He breaks a YA ‘no parents’ rule and engages them as I believe would and should happen in the real-life of any 16-year-old. With parental support, they organize peaceful protests, which, unfortunately, but of course, turn tragic. Moss’ anger builds throughout the narrative. He learns to channel that to create change for his neighborhood and school. As was stated earlier, A for story.

This is Oshiro’s debut novel. His characters are genuine, unique, and empathizable (is that a word?) The final third of the book, packed with dynamic and engaging action, but the first two/thirds were too predictable: 

•    Moss encounters something
•    his anxiety rises
•    he tries his coping mechanisms 
•    ultimately Mama (a solid mom any kid would adore), Esperanza (the best friend), or Javier (the boyfriend) rubs his back or head 
•    Moss can cope again. 

Too repetitive for my taste.

The problem, in my opinion, is that Oshiro never made me feel Moss’ angst. He told me about it, a few too many times. In the last third, Oshiro truly engaged this reader in the mental and physical abuse at the hands of the police but not the anguish inspired by Moss’ own demons.

Having completed the novel, I moved my rating up to a B+/A-. This story did eventually grab me and something more. It enlightened me,(as it did for Esperanza), to a situation I thankfully have never witnessed and wish did not exist. However, according to the author’s notes, it does – and it shouldn’t.

Switchback

by Danika Stone

A Swoon Reads Book

Imprint of Feiwel and Friends and Macmillan Publishing Group

2019

Vale (Valeria) hates high school. Who wouldn't if you were bullied and had no friends. Well, she has one friend, Ash (Ashton), and thank goodness he's in her PE class. Friends since kindergarten, Ash intervenes between Vale and her nemesis Mike. Not to stand up to him, but in his usual class-clown way, making fun of himself and the world around him to diffuse the tension.

Why hasn't he ever stood up to Mike? Vale tries, but it does no good. So when the PE class embarks on the mandatory overnight hike in Canada's Waterton Park, Vale is glad Ash is along. Ash wishes he was home playing video games in the basement, but he wants to graduate, and he promised Vale he wouldn't bail.

Vale and Ash are lost and on their own by lunchtime. Enduring a real and daunting survival experience, their relationship changes and grows, and so do they. Vale has some survival instinct from reading and a fundamental love of nature. Ash respects this and lets her take charge until she rolls an ankle, and he knows she needs him to step up. He leaves before dawn to climb a peak and tries one more time to make a 911 call. Vale wakes up alone, feeling abandoned by the world.

Ash needs to get back to Vale. Vale hopes Ash will return but needs to leave the camp before the elk or grizzly return. Things only get worse.

I enjoyed Switchback. Reading about nature, the elk rut, and other wildlife encounters is right up my alley. The writing was a bit naïve for YA, so I rated it a B+. As a Middle Grade, I'd probably raise it to an A-. If you ever spend time in the great outdoors or wonder what it's like, you'll find some very realistic descriptions in Switchback.