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Anger Is a Gift

by Mark Oshiro

Anger, belonging, and the fight to be heard

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Anger, belonging, and the fight to be heard

Set at West Oakland High, Mark Oshiro’s novel brings Moss Jeffries’s personal struggles into contact with the pressures shaping his school community. Moss lives with panic attacks and the loss of his father, while he and his friends contend with crumbling school infrastructure, intimidation by a resource officer, and rules that make students feel criminalized. The story connects these institutional tensions with Moss’s relationships and the burden of becoming a rallying point after a traumatic event. Its central question—whether anger must lead to fear and hate, or can become a source of change—frames a young adult story about prejudice, grief, and collective voice.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in fiction about prejudice and racism.
  • Readers seeking a school-centered story involving student activism and institutional pressure.
  • Readers interested in LGBTQ young adult fiction and relationships alongside themes of grief and anxiety.

Themes

Prejudice and racismSchool conditions and policingGrief and anxietyLGBTQ relationshipsAnger and collective action

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The trade paperback edition of the highly buzzed about YA debut from Mark Oshiro, Anger Is a Gift follows a boy from Oakland as he falls in love amidst the chaos of modern America.

*31st Annual Lammy Finalist forLGBTQ Children's/Young Adult category*
*2019 ALA Schneider Family Book Award Teen Winner*
*Buzzfeed's 24 Best YA Books of 2018*
*Vulture's 38 Best LGBTQ YA Novels*

*Book Riot's Best Books 2018*
*Hyable's Most Anticipated Queer YA Books of 2018*
*The Mary Sue's 18 Books You Should Read in 2018*


Moss Jeffries is many things--considerate student, devoted son, loyal friend and affectionate boyfriend, enthusiastic nerd.

But sometimes Moss still wishes he could be someone else--someone without panic attacks, someone whose father was still alive, someone who hadn't become a rallying point for a community because of one horrible night.

And most of all, he wishes he didn't feel so stuck.

Moss can't even escape at school--he and his friends are subject to the lack of funds and crumbling infrastructure at West Oakland High, as well as constant intimidation by the resource officer stationed in their halls. That was even before the new regulations--it seems sometimes that the students are treated more like criminals.

Something will have to change--but who will listen to a group of teens?

When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes again, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.

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