Tightrope

Tightrope: Americans reaching for hope / Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn, 304 pgs. Read by Jennifer Garner

The authors examine many of America's ills with data and definitions but also with personal stories from people.  Many of these people are personal friends who grew up in Yamhill, the town where Kristof lived as a child and where his mother still lives.  There is something jarring about these personal stories.  These are people were on high school sports teams with the author or rode the same bus.  This personal view is interesting for the reader.  This is the first time I've heard Jennifer Garner as a narrator.  She did a wonderful job.

The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, 444 pages.
I remember, based on the first review thinking that this was going to be a preachy sort of novel, with an angry point of view. It isn't preachy though; it is sort of angry, but the author shows the confusion and the pain behind her character's anger, and her reasons for that anger so well that you are right there with her.
When Starr sees her childhood friend Khalil killed by a police officer she is frightened and somewhat shattered. When it becomes apparent that nothing much will happen to the officer, she becomes more and more angry. Starr must decide what to do, and what she stands for. All of the characters in the book are complex, very few lack nuance.
A remarkable book , very powerful, moving and deep.