2004 Coretta Scott King Honor Book
2015 Edwards Award Winner
Jericho Prescott is content to swim through life. He has his friends, Josh (cousins, but they're so close they could be brothers) and Kofi. He has his trumpet, Zora. He wouldn't mind a girl, especially Arielle, who is the cutest girl in school, but makes him clam up. And life seems to get better when the Warriors of Distinction, an elite long-standing service club in their community, invites Jericho, Josh, and Kofi to participate in their annual Christmas toy drive. Seen as the first step towards being invited to join, the boys are overjoyed - especially Jericho, when he notices that Arielle seems to be more interested in him. But once the week-long initiation starts, things don't seem right. The pledges are tasked with standard service projects by day, but with more harrowing and horrendous acts at night. And by the time Jericho finally feels like he should do something, it's too late, and the damage is done.
I like that this book seemed true to how teens would act. I know that's kind of a funny thing to lead with, but in many teen-problem-novels, a character manages to Do The Right Thing by the end, and everything turns out okay. But not so with this one. Even when faced with hazing and a plethora of adults around Jericho telling him that he can come to them for help, Jericho and his friends go along. It'll all be over soon, right? And the pay-off will be totally worth it! That feels like a valid, teenage-brain reaction. One thing that didn't totally feel right was some of the dialogue. Sharon does great trying to include slang, but it doesn't always work. That might be me, though. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's pretty clear why Sharon Draper won the Edwards Award, as I know this book has spoken to and will continue to speak to a lot of teens.
(Read as part of YALSA's Hub Reading Challenge.)
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