A novel in verse about understanding and overcoming a rage deep inside of you. One that causes you to hurt people and Understanding why you have this rage. Haz’s story is told through text messages, free verse emails to his therapist and transcripts of interviews between him, his mom and his Granny. The author definitely gets across Haz’s confusion and anger stemming from his dad’s injury and own anger. This read at a higher level than MS. ( )

While this book brought up serious and important topics, the way it was told made it hard to understand. I was bored, couldn't connect to any of the characters despite wanting to, and was lost half the time. The structure in this is nonsensical. It's slow to start and just--ends. There's no real character arc in a book that seems built to have one. Somehow, it was a quick read. ( )

An ultra-fast read that does a superb job of letting the reader follow eighth grader Hazard as he struggles with denial about anger, and the circumstances surrounding his suspension from the football team after a particularly hard hit. Ordered to work with a psychologist (who never really appears in the story, save for the exercises he assigns), Hazard gradually grows in terms of insight. In the process, his answers to the assignments, coupled with forwarded emails from his father he shares with his therapist, as well as interviews he does with family members, create a background that fleshes out the dynamics behind his behavior, while showing how he begins to understand himself. Props for the author letting Hazard define most of the acronyms associated with his parents' military experiences.
This is not only a good book to hook reluctant teen readers, it serves well as one that might help kids who have some form of family trauma that affects their emotional well-being. Definitely a worthwhile choice for school and public libraries. ( )