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Jul 18, 2015KateHillier rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Extremely topical and well organized. A young man is shot outside a store. The young man is black, the shooter is white. Some people swear he had a gun on him, others are adamant he did not. Was he a gang member? Or was he just living in a gang controlled neighbourhood? You never really know the answer. Tariq was known by so many people in different ways that everyone is biased one way or the other; and Tariq cannot answer for himself. The book is told in changing perspectives. From Tariq's mother, sister, and grandmother. To his best friends. To his enemies. Everyone has an idea and a perspective about how and why the shooting happened and all may be valid in their own context. I think I expected a little bit more from this book than what I got but that does not make it any less a good read. One death shatters a community and affects everyone's lives no matter how barely they knew Tariq.