Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

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Anger Is a Gift

May 22, 2018 / 384 pages / Fiction

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A story of resilience and loss, love and family, Mark Oshiro's Anger Is a Gift testifies to the vulnerability and strength of a community living within a system of oppression

Six years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media's vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near-debilitating panic attacks.

Now in his junior year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration.

When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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Police brutality

Grief

Family

First love

High school

Racism

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Synopsis

A story of resilience and loss, love and family, Mark Oshiro's Anger Is a Gift testifies to the vulnerability and strength of a community living within a system of oppression Six years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media's vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near-debilitating panic attacks. Now in his junior year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration. When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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This isn't the most polished novel. The character count grows too high and the dialogue can feel stilted or excessive at times. But damn, Oshiro tackles some big issues head-on: racism, law enforcement, and the societal systems working against a major minority of our population. He illustrates the struggle through the eyes of young gay black boy whose story is so tragic that it feels like he's cursed. But it's not bad luck or poor timing. He's a target, a victim, and an inspirational voice.

Grade: B+ / bennett_the_ceo

/ Jun 13, 2018

Firstly, I was not prepared! This book is a heart-wrenching look at the effect of police brutality on communities & families, from the point of view of a gay, black high school student named Moss. At times this book was hard to read due to the subject matter but it was easy to relate to & root for the protagonist. It was refreshing to have many lgbt characters, and the dynamic between Moss and his mom was lovely. I wish the pacing had been a bit more consistent & some dialogue seemed overedited.

Grade: B+ / HeathersCorner

/ May 17, 2018

I have a lot of thoughts. I'm happy for everyone who connected with this story -- it's an important discussion and I appreciated the conversation about justified rage and how people aren't obligated to forgive someone who takes the life of someone they love. It's a beautiful thing if a person is able to forgive their son's killer... but they aren't a monster if they cannot and will not forgive that -- it's a dangerous expectation to set because it continues the cycle of abuse -- "as long as y

Grade: C / jashanac / Jun 16, 2020

great premise & I wanted to love it so much, it's an important topic for sure, but it was poorly written and/or edited & had characters I did not like or feel connected to at all. Sorry.

Grade: D / MrsReganReads / Jan 13, 2022

If I'm going to be suuuuuuper specific, I would say 4.9 stars only because there were some character aspects and throwaway lines that I wanted to pursue more, like Moss's body image and another character's asexuality. This book was difficult to read, and almost felt dystopian at times, but I think it was fantastic.

Grade: A / missmreads / Jan 16, 2022