
Reach for this book if your teenager is struggling with a loss of identity due to a move, a change in family status, or a situation where they feel forced to hide their true self. Jacqueline Woodson explores the heavy emotional toll of Witness Protection on fifteen-year-old Toswiah Green, who must abandon her name, her Black middle-class community, and her history to become Evie Thomas. This is a quiet, poetic, and deeply realistic look at grief and resilience. It is best suited for middle and high schoolers who are ready to engage with complex themes of justice, police ethics, and the way external labels define us. Parents will appreciate the nuanced portrayal of a family fracturing and healing under extreme pressure.
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Sign in to write a reviewThe book addresses police brutality and the racial bias that can influence law enforcement decisions, focusing on the aftermath for the whistleblower. It handles depression and suicidal ideation with a realistic, somber tone. The resolution is hopeful but remains realistic: the past is gone, but the future is navigable.
A thoughtful 13-year-old who feels invisible or misunderstood, or a teen who has recently experienced a major life transition that stripped away their familiar support systems.
Read cold, but be prepared to discuss the father's mental health crisis and the moral weight of his decision to testify. A parent might see their child withdrawing from social circles or expressing that they 'don't know who they are anymore' after a move or family crisis.
Younger teens focus on the loss of friends and the 'mystery' of the new identity. Older teens will grasp the systemic injustice and the profound sense of loss and displacement that comes from being forced to abandon their past identity.
Unlike many witness protection thrillers, this is a character study that prioritizes emotional truth and poetic prose over action-movie tropes. """
After Toswiah's father, a Denver police officer, testifies against fellow officers who killed a boy, the family enters the Witness Protection Program. They are relocated to a new city with new identities. Toswiah (now Evie) must navigate the trauma of losing her past while her father descends into depression and her mother clings to a new religious community.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.