AWESOMEYvonne

This was my second Pride Month read which is late and I almost didn’t read it. I am so glad that I did.

First of all, it is quick. That is always a plus. It was time to start a new book and this one had just became available so I went for it.

The book is a young adult true story about two teens, Sasha and Richard, and a single reckless act that takes place on a public bus and the aftermath. Sasha had on a skirt and was asleep and then was on fire. Richard was charged with two hate crimes.

Richard is a black male teen that lived in the flatlands of Oakland, California and attended a large public school. Sasha is agender white teen that lived in the middle class foothills of Oakland and attended a private school.

The book gives a brief history of both teens and parents and explores the kind of life each child had. The book then continues through the fire, the aftermath.

The story is very well explained and the author does a great job of exploring everything surrounding it. The book takes a very, very hard look at the juvenile criminal justice system and provides a lot of information while not telling you what to think. It also does a wonderful job of talking about social justice and issues to consider surrounding it.

This would be a great book for a youth book club or school assignment.