Scan barcode
jskh_leeper's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-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? No
4.5
adrianoanne's review against another edition
5.0
Shiver-inducing, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and it WILL make you uncomfortable.
Reading the descent of society against minorities in the backdrop of Toronto, imagining the streets and shops I've known growing up is bone-chilling.
A big shout out to Catherine Hernandez. This book is definitely in my 2024 favs list.
Reading the descent of society against minorities in the backdrop of Toronto, imagining the streets and shops I've known growing up is bone-chilling.
A big shout out to Catherine Hernandez. This book is definitely in my 2024 favs list.
ruth24's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez is one of my favourite books I've read this year and one that will stick with me for a long time. I know my review will not be able to do justice to all the things this book made me think and feel, but I'll give it my best shot!
Crosshairs is a dystopian story set in a near future in Toronto, Canada where climate change disproportionately affects those in lower-income neighbourhoods, non-white people, disabled people, immigrants, refugees, and members of the LGBTQ2S community. This sparks the Canadian government to sanction an oppressive regime, the Renovation, which uses military police to round up these ‘Others’, forcing them into work houses-cum-concentration camps. The government's discrimination, control and genocide of the Others is hidden behind a vision of providing housing, jobs, peace and economic prosperity.
I loved that this story was set in Canada, because all too often we Canadians believe racism is an American problem or claim that it either isn’t as bad over here or doesn't exist at all, which is obviously not true. Crosshairs opened my eyes to the racism that persists in Toronto and Canada as a whole, and where this could lead if we continue to sweep it under the rug. This book was disturbing in many ways, but most terrifying for me was how easy it was to see the steps that led to the regime, how they justified what they were doing and hid behind visions for a ‘brighter’ future. We need only look to history to see that this has happened again and again.
I loved the characters in this book - Kay, Firuzeh, Bahadur - and how Hernandez showed the many different ways they and others coped, either by fighting, by hiding or by refusing to live in a world in which they could not be their authentic selves. There was no right or wrong, only the individual and their unique philosophy and ability to cope. I also liked how Hernandez used the white characters, Liz, Beck and his family, as blueprints to demonstrate how we should work to challenge the institutional racism we've grown up with, step aside and uplift the voices of the oppressed in a way that's not performative.
Raw, beautiful, challenging, compelling - this book is a must-read and could not be more timely. Look for it in December 2020!
Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez is one of my favourite books I've read this year and one that will stick with me for a long time. I know my review will not be able to do justice to all the things this book made me think and feel, but I'll give it my best shot!
Crosshairs is a dystopian story set in a near future in Toronto, Canada where climate change disproportionately affects those in lower-income neighbourhoods, non-white people, disabled people, immigrants, refugees, and members of the LGBTQ2S community. This sparks the Canadian government to sanction an oppressive regime, the Renovation, which uses military police to round up these ‘Others’, forcing them into work houses-cum-concentration camps. The government's discrimination, control and genocide of the Others is hidden behind a vision of providing housing, jobs, peace and economic prosperity.
I loved that this story was set in Canada, because all too often we Canadians believe racism is an American problem or claim that it either isn’t as bad over here or doesn't exist at all, which is obviously not true. Crosshairs opened my eyes to the racism that persists in Toronto and Canada as a whole, and where this could lead if we continue to sweep it under the rug. This book was disturbing in many ways, but most terrifying for me was how easy it was to see the steps that led to the regime, how they justified what they were doing and hid behind visions for a ‘brighter’ future. We need only look to history to see that this has happened again and again.
I loved the characters in this book - Kay, Firuzeh, Bahadur - and how Hernandez showed the many different ways they and others coped, either by fighting, by hiding or by refusing to live in a world in which they could not be their authentic selves. There was no right or wrong, only the individual and their unique philosophy and ability to cope. I also liked how Hernandez used the white characters, Liz, Beck and his family, as blueprints to demonstrate how we should work to challenge the institutional racism we've grown up with, step aside and uplift the voices of the oppressed in a way that's not performative.
Raw, beautiful, challenging, compelling - this book is a must-read and could not be more timely. Look for it in December 2020!
atran122's review against another edition
4.0
My second book by Catherine Hernandez! Just as well-written and emotional as Scarborough.
Crosshairs is a book that forces you to consider how we are complicit in our everyday lives to the very things that we defame and renounce. We always say and think it'll never be us or that it'll never happen, but this book gives a glimpse of what really could be.
Crosshairs is a book that forces you to consider how we are complicit in our everyday lives to the very things that we defame and renounce. We always say and think it'll never be us or that it'll never happen, but this book gives a glimpse of what really could be.
agemme10's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
jennaclarek's review against another edition
4.0
okay wow i don't know what i was expecting but this book was just...really powerful. i don't read a lot of dystopian nowadays (for obvious reasons) but i decided to pick this up on a whim because i need more adult lgbtqia+ books and i know this is written by a queer woman of color. and even though this isn't my favorite book of the year by any means, i think it was so well-written and surprisingly wonderful? like, it's horrible and terrifying and upsetting and all that, but i think because it's so tragic that's what makes it good. and there are definitely a lot of undertones of hope too which is great.
i definitely would recommend this if you're looking for an adult dystopian though because what's so...chilling about it is that it reads more like...contemporary? lit fiction? what i like about it is that even though it is dark, a lot of the book focuses on flashbacks and stories from queer characters just...living. and it feels like it's told in love letters. but the dystopian elements of the book are so authentic because...it's realistic. it hurt to read because it's only a few steps away from where we are now. it's not far-fetched like most dystopian books. it's scary, but important. i think it also has a lot of wisdom about allyship and how white people — both straight and queer — should act in relation to people of color. definitely something i'll be sitting on and thinking about as time goes on.
i definitely would recommend this if you're looking for an adult dystopian though because what's so...chilling about it is that it reads more like...contemporary? lit fiction? what i like about it is that even though it is dark, a lot of the book focuses on flashbacks and stories from queer characters just...living. and it feels like it's told in love letters. but the dystopian elements of the book are so authentic because...it's realistic. it hurt to read because it's only a few steps away from where we are now. it's not far-fetched like most dystopian books. it's scary, but important. i think it also has a lot of wisdom about allyship and how white people — both straight and queer — should act in relation to people of color. definitely something i'll be sitting on and thinking about as time goes on.
etakloknok's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
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? No
5.0
spaghettireads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jena_t's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
A disappointing follow up to Scarborough. Something about this felt contrived and just too on the nose. I felt like the messaging was being drummed into me over and over again which I really didn't like, and it felt more like a YA novel.
There were some interesting parts and of course the book was jam packed with diverse voices which is an absolute necessity with this subject matters and made the book more enjoyable than if it were not so.
There were some interesting parts and of course the book was jam packed with diverse voices which is an absolute necessity with this subject matters and made the book more enjoyable than if it were not so.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
5.0
WOW. This book is amazing! Our generation’s Handmaid’s tale - and I don’t say that lightly. So well done. So smartly written and as with the best dystopias - likely not so implausible (which is scary). I predict lots of awards and I hope everyone reads this. Crosshairs is a good wake up call to make people recognize the dangers of turning a blind eye and seeing people as “others” (as if the Holocaust hasn’t taught us that already but there is definitely still work to be done in terms of race and sexuality). Really loved this book. Far exceeded expectations! (Also, the author narrates the audiobook herself and gives it extra emotional power!)