Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
This is the first Jacqueline Woodson book I've read -- I knew to expect dark, though. The story got me thinking about what it would be like to have to move under police protection and make an entirely new identity -- I had never realised that I wouldn't be able to take my dog, so that's disturbing.
I would possibly have felt more had I read this book in a single sitting, but I wasn't sufficiently propelled through the story.
I would possibly have felt more had I read this book in a single sitting, but I wasn't sufficiently propelled through the story.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Woodson writes a book that is still so relevant today with all the unnecessary police violence against people of color. This is a heartwrenching story about a police officer who stands up for what he believes is right, but at the same time, he is putting himself and his family in danger.
Told from the point of view of the younger daughter, this book shows different sides of this story as the whole family is affected by one incident, one tragedy, one event that should never have happened and yet it changes the lives of so many people.
Told from the point of view of the younger daughter, this book shows different sides of this story as the whole family is affected by one incident, one tragedy, one event that should never have happened and yet it changes the lives of so many people.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Police brutality, Suicide attempt
Minor: Death
One day I'm going to build a book-specific time machine and drop books like this one in it, for my younger self. Or maybe I'm never going to build that time machine, because if I were, my younger self would have already read this? Ugh, time travel paradoxes.
Anyway, this is a great book, it's just a kid/teen book that felt like it was over before it began. The book jacket tells you what's going to happen - Mom gets religion, dad gets depressed, sister plans her escape - and I felt like the book just told me those things happened rather than building up to them. Which wouldn't have been a problem if I were say, 12 or so, and not such a fast reader accustomed to more complicated stories. So, this one goes in the time machine.
Anyway, this is a great book, it's just a kid/teen book that felt like it was over before it began. The book jacket tells you what's going to happen - Mom gets religion, dad gets depressed, sister plans her escape - and I felt like the book just told me those things happened rather than building up to them. Which wouldn't have been a problem if I were say, 12 or so, and not such a fast reader accustomed to more complicated stories. So, this one goes in the time machine.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
Toswiah Green has a good life. She lives in Denver, her father is a policeman and her mother a teacher, her parents kiss in the kitchen, her best friend lives down the hall, and her sister is, well, annoying, but whatever. They're all happy. And then it all changes. Toswiah's father makes a decision, and Denver is no longer an option. Toswiah's name is Evie, her father doesn't have a job, she doesn't have any friends, and her parents certainly don't kiss in the kitchen. No one is happy, and Toswiah--Evie--doesn't see how they ever could be, again.
This book takes place entirely in Toswiah's head, and I wouldn't call it a book about witness protection. It's--just like every other children's book, YA book--a book about change, and dealing with those changes. It's a book about growing up when everything feels wrong, looks wrong. I don't know what else to say about it, other than that. It was short, a quick read, introspective and with great, sad, sometimes feisty, characters.
This book takes place entirely in Toswiah's head, and I wouldn't call it a book about witness protection. It's--just like every other children's book, YA book--a book about change, and dealing with those changes. It's a book about growing up when everything feels wrong, looks wrong. I don't know what else to say about it, other than that. It was short, a quick read, introspective and with great, sad, sometimes feisty, characters.
Many bloggers have been touting Ms. Woodson and her writing for months now, so I knew I had to pick up at least one of her works. I am proud to say that my fellow bloggers are not wrong. Hush was every bit as phenomenal as they said it would be.
It goes without saying that being a pre-teen and having to start a new life completely and utterly is both painful and torturous. This is the obvious point of the novel. What Ms. Woodson does is to go beyond the obvious. What gives us our identity? Is it our name? Our family? Our birthplace? The color of our skin? Is it one thing or many? More importantly, should it be one thing or many?
Hush identifies the poignant and painful journey Evie takes to discover just who she is at a time in her life when she was already struggling to do so. It is dramatic in its simplicity while confusion, loneliness and questioning ooze from every word. Added to that, Ms. Woodson adds the undercurrent of tension in regards to the decisions made by Evie's father, further complicating her desire to discover who she is.
Hush is a quick read, clocking in at 180 pages, but it is one that stays with you for a long time as you ponder what identity truly means. I highly recommend this simple but thought-provoking novel.
It goes without saying that being a pre-teen and having to start a new life completely and utterly is both painful and torturous. This is the obvious point of the novel. What Ms. Woodson does is to go beyond the obvious. What gives us our identity? Is it our name? Our family? Our birthplace? The color of our skin? Is it one thing or many? More importantly, should it be one thing or many?
Hush identifies the poignant and painful journey Evie takes to discover just who she is at a time in her life when she was already struggling to do so. It is dramatic in its simplicity while confusion, loneliness and questioning ooze from every word. Added to that, Ms. Woodson adds the undercurrent of tension in regards to the decisions made by Evie's father, further complicating her desire to discover who she is.
Hush is a quick read, clocking in at 180 pages, but it is one that stays with you for a long time as you ponder what identity truly means. I highly recommend this simple but thought-provoking novel.
This was beautifully and descriptively written, and I had never read a book on what it's like to live in the witness protection program before!