Here are this week’s recommendations!

The Hate U Give

Goodreads rating: 4.55

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter feels caught between two worlds: that of the poor neighbourhood she lives in and the other of the rich white school she attends. She’s thrown completely off-balance when her childhood best friend, Khalil, is shot right in front of her eyes by a white police officer.

The Hate U Give dwells on several important themes. The most obvious, I guess, is police brutality. A lot of innocent black people are targetted by police officers and gunned down. Since the story is from Starr’s point-of-view, we, as readers, get to know Khalil better. Humanising him makes his death all the more painful and heartwrenching. Then there’s the theme of racism and how there are social divides in our communities, the importance of family and loads more. I’ll let you figure them all out. 🙂

Swagger

Goodreads rating: 4.14

Jonas Dolan never thought about applying to college until his basketball coach brought up sports scholarships. A talented point guard, why stop playing in high school, when you can play at a college level? Then Jonas’ family moves to Seattle. He makes a new friend, Levi. Just when everything is going perfectly, Jonas discovers a secret and his whole life is turned upside down.

Okay, if you’re going to read this book, do NOT read the blurb or the reviews on the cover. They’ve got major spoilers on there which totally ruined the book for me. Other than that, this is a quick and thought-provoking read. You’ll be hooked from start to end.

The Honest Truth

Goodreads rating: 4.25

Mark is convinced that life sucks. Upon hearing some depressing news (which further solidifies his opinion), Mark runs away with his loyal dog, Beau, to fulfil his biggest dream: climb Mount Rainier.

I would describe this book as The Fault in Our Stars for middle-graders. Oh, and a better version of TFIOS. On the surface, this is a book about a boy with cancer who’s totally done with life. But if you dig deeper, you’ll see that it’s about a boy who’s scared of death and doesn’t really want to let go of life regardless of how sucky it gets. Also, there’s a doggo! I love doggos! 🙂