“Keep your hands visible. Don’t make any sudden moves. Only speak when they speak to you.” These are the rules a father instructs his twelve-year-old daughter. This is the other talk. Not the birds and the bees but what to do if you’re stopped by a cop. As a black person.   Starr Carter is an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl trying to live between two worlds; her mostly black, lower-income neighborhood, Garden Heights, and the white, affluent Williamson Prep, where she goes to school. However, her life is thrown into a tailspin when she witnesses the shooting of her best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a cop. Suddenly, she is eyewitness to a tragedy that threatens to tear her community apart. She is given a difficult choice – speak out about her experience and take the risk of scrutiny, criticism, and even death threats or remain silent.   Although the book centers around Kahlil’s shooting and the steps necessary to secure justice, it is about more than that. We are introduced to multi-faceted characters with strong beliefs, moral codes, and a sense of identity. Thomas never sacrifices plot for character. However, the sheer number of minor characters can be overwhelming. I found myself flipping back several pages, trying to connect dialogue with names, not remembering who was related to whom and how they were related.  The writing is straight-forward, and the author’s superb story-telling skills shine through her excellent pacing and realistic teenage slang. Most importantly, we become emotionally invested and understand the devastating parallels to the real world. The novel is tragic and inspiring, truly a novel for the 21st century and will have you ready to “use your weapon”, your voice, just like Starr.  • • •
 QUOTES

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”   “Your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. Be the roses that grow in the concrete.”   “It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black.”