The Day Tajon Got Shot

Gr 8 Up—Tajon Williams, a black teen, sells weed as a means of getting his mother and sister away from his abusive and alcoholic father He is threatened at gunpoint by the neighborhood drug dealer into handing over his weed supply without receiving money from him. Their transaction is interrupted by a white police officer, and Tajon is shot twice while running from the officer. The shooting is witnessed by Razia, a longtime school friend of Tajon. She knows Tajon did not have a gun, contrary to the police officer's claims. Her sister, Angel, is best friends with Ashley, a white female member of the basketball team who figures out the police officer is none other than her own father, Pete. Her brother, Zach, lashes out at Pete for shooting his friend. When the school finds out Pete is their father, it is Ashley who unwittingly earns the wrath from Angel and the basketball team. The 10 teen writers of Beacon House have brilliantly crafted a YA book in which they take on the perspectives of 10 central characters. Each is given multiple layers. However, Pete's nameless wife and Ashley and Zach's mother are not as nuanced. Readers will appreciate the usage of multimedia, such as newspaper headlines, social media, and protest signs and posters. The book gives off an element of anticipation, which will cause readers to wonder the outcome of the comotose Tajon's condition. Readers will also be alarmed at the list of unarmed people of color killed by police in the United States, from March 2015 to the writing of this book.