Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Anger Is a Gift

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.

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cheesepuppy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I should have kept track of how many times this book made me cry. There were 100 pages or so that skillfully brought out the tears. This book has layers. Aside from the main story line, we also get to see Moss deal with his own mental health, friendships, and a potential boyfriend.

Queer representation: non-binary, bisexual, biromantic, ace, gay, lesbian

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alisazhup's review

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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, and

that 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.

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lapis's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I remember a question on Goodreads about The Hate U Give, saying which would be better to read, THUG or Dear Martin. IIRC, the most popular answer given was something along the lines of "is it better to breathe or to drink water".

Maybe it's because this came out later (I Think), but Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro never came up!

But basically, that Goodreads question and my answer to it kept me up after I dried my tears from this book last night.

I firmly believe if you can only read one, or at least one to start with, and non-fiction about policing is off the table, and you are white, you should read this one.

I know that's a pretty bold statement! I will back it up, I promise.

Undeniably, all books in this micro-genre of "Police Brutality fiction" at least consider the white audience reading it. I've been told they're too big a market to ignore, I don't know if that's still true, but a lot of people believe it.

But all the books approach different angles while considering a partially-white audience. I'm gonna keep these comparisons short because it's been over a year since I've read the other books, please note there are more to them than this.
The Hate U Give shows that some cops at the very least, are not as corrupt or racist as others. It also shows Code-switching and the problem with white feminism. These are important! I won't deny it!
Dear Martin is mostly about how even being the perfect black boy is not good enough, and talks about the often spat out idea of how "Martin Luther King Jr. would be disappointed in BLM" by having the protagonist write what are effectively diary entries addressed to Dr. King (who to be clear, is long dead because this is the modern day). Obviously this is important!
Anger is a Gift deals with organizing protests (and the ways cops try to destroy these protests, this is like at least a 3rd of the book), the problem with white savior complexes, the problem with school funding being tied to tests, and what I think is most important of all: Complacency.

Do you want to know why people talk about defunding or abolishing the police? Because even if police offer relative is, according to you, not a violent, racist cop, they are complacent in a system. Maybe your Uncle John, a cop, didn't shoot an unarmed black child, but did he even try to stop it? Did he try to have justice done to the child's family by calling for accountability for the person who shot the child? I really doubt it. Many of us are guilty of complacency, just oftentimes with less deadly consequences, or consequences we're deliberately ignoring. That is the essence of Hashtag ACAB.

I'm not saying Dear Martin or The Hate U Give don't deal with this. But I feel it's clearest, most-spelled out in Anger is a Gift And that is why I say to start with this one if you are white. Because we often don't think about complacency.

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