Retaliation by Yasmin Shiraz

[bj neary]

Retaliation by Yasmin Shiraz had my heart pumping the whole time I read it. Now I understand why it received 2009 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers! What would you do if someone you loved was senselessly targeted, beaten up and left for dead? This is the premise of this book and what happens continues to reverberate through each chapter. People's lives are changed (Sheila Odom and her son Khalil who was in a gang and now spends his days in a wheelchair)--- they jump to conclusions that are unwarranted and they want justice and they don't care as long as Tashera who was beaten by a group of girls who are disguised, doesn't suffer anymore and is vindicated whether it be a beatdown on one of the girls who commandeered her friends to beat, kick and assault Tahsera. They run away when help comes from Ashe, an EMT who saw and heard it from a nearby building. Each chapter involves some other person who has been drawn into this nightmare....I purchased three for my library and they are all out in students hands, I think it will continue to generate buzz and also hopefully some sensible conversation about the CHOICES many of these characters make....