Uncovering Hard Truths

We haven’t done any YA reviews for awhile, so this week we take a look at two of my favourite five star reads from 2023 in the young adult genre.

I feel like I have to say this every time I review YA, but please check the trigger warnings on these books before you read them yourself and especially if you are giving these/recommending these to young people in your life.

First up we have Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow. This book is gritty, raw, and intense and is a deep dive into aspects of mental health, addiction and self-harm. (how’s that for some trigger warnings). The story is centered around Charlie who is deeply troubled and her journey is both heartbreaking and inspiring.

I really loved the writing style in this book. It is almost poetic, providing an unfiltered look into Charlie’s thoughts and feelings. There are very heavy themes which at times can make it a difficult read. If you are anything like me, you will want to pick Charlie out of the pages and take her home and wrap her in some love! These heavy themes also make a powerful statement about resilience and recovery. If your heart can handle it, this book is a memorable exploration of trauma and healing. This is one that will stay with me for awhile.

The second book this week is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I could not get enough of this book. This one was published in 2017, to some controversy. This is one of the books that people are trying to get banned in the US for promoting an anti-police agenda. When I hear people are trying to ban a book, it makes me want to read it more. I am rebellious like that..

Despite these people trying to take away these books, I think this is an important book for people to read – especially young people, as I think it encourages us all to think about our biases.

This book is centered around Starr Carter, a young Black girl navigating between living in her predominantly Black neighbourhood, and a mostly white private school.

POTENTIAL SPOILER: It says this on the back of the book, so hopefully not too much of a spoiler for you (but stop reading now if you like to read books without knowing anything about them).

Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. The story follows the aftermath of this shooting, including media response, repercussions for the police officer, and the responses from people around Starr who do not know she is the only witness. One of the things that particularly stuck with me when reading this book, is the somewhat innocent things people say having consumed certain perspectives in the media.

This book addresses systemic racism, police brutality, injustice, and biases. When I was reading this, I felt many different emotions. It is certainly a roller-coaster of a read!

Appealing to a younger audience, this book is written using a lot of slang which I think adds to the authenticity of the characters, but I can see that this might be off-putting to some people – this is a young adult novel after all, so keep that in mind.

I think this is a must-read book, particularly for young people who are looking to better understand this complex world. Add this one to your list, because life is too short to read bad books.