Hush (urspr publ 2002; utgåvan 2002)

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This is a very engaging book about the idea of identity and what happens when what we think is our identity is taken away and we have to create a new one. Toswiah was happy living in Denver with her family, but when her father witnesses the killing of a young black boy, her whole family has to move away and assume new identities. Jacqueline Woodson is a master storyteller and its no wonder that this book was a National Book Award Finalist. Even though this book was written in 2002, way before the Black Lives Matter movement, it will certainly resonate with students today.

Other than the book ending rather abruptly I enjoyed it. After Toswiah's father witnesses two white cops kill an unarmed black boy and he testifies against them, everyone's life is turned upside down. Soon they receive death threats and must enter the witness protection program. Everything about her former life is gone, including her name.

The thoughts and dialogue of the two sisters felt very real to me, especially their feelings about their mother joining the Jehovah's Witness church. After reading Brown Girl Dreaming I could find many parallels between that book and this one. Woodson drew upon many of her own experiences when writing this book which is probably why I found it to be so authentic. ( )

Published in 2002, but perhaps even more relevant today. A black cop witnesses two white cops (two people he considered his friends, his brothers) murder an unarmed black boy for no reason. After getting death threats against his family, he makes the agonizing decision to do what's right and testify against them, which forces him, his wife, and two teenage daughters into the Witness Protection Program. What happens when everything you know is taken away from you because you spoke up? Each family member reacts differently and it's a good glimpse into how complicated these cases are and how racism continues to invade our world. There were some parts that seemed stretched to me, but it's well-written, as is everything Jacqueline Woodson pens. ( )