It seems like politics and government are something that kids and teens are thinking about and involved in more and more these days. While that can be a positive thing, it also comes with drawbacks and sometimes, negative outcomes for those involved in protests and standing up for their beliefs. Eran Sharon, the protagonist in this YA novel, hasn’t had an easy life. He grew up not knowing much about his father who left when he was quite young, and though he tries to get his mother to tell stories and share memories with him, she seems to want to keep that part of his heritage a secret.

When Eran hears of a new law that is going into effect in his community and he disagrees with the ethics of it, he takes action and puts together an event to protest. What starts out as something positive quickly turns into a nightmare for Eran and his mother when the protest gets physical and Eran finds himself questioning not only his actions, but who he really is and what he believes. His friends and community start to view him differently when parts of Eran’s past is revealed, and he begins to wonder if he inherited things from his missing father that he never would have imagined.

What Makes Us is an inspiring book that is geared towards the young adult crowd; however, I think it contains a story that adults could learn something important from as well. Forgiveness, justice, racial and religious equality are all themes in this book that may be fictional but are all relevant in today’s world and might help open the eyes of people both young and old. This would make a great choice for a book club, as there is much to discuss within its pages.

Review of Advance Reader’s Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Candlewick

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  11 religious exclamations; 1 mild obscenity; 2 religious profanities; 3 derogatory names; 16 scatological words; 4 anatomical terms; 1 offensive hand gesture; 31 F-Word derivatives. 

Violence/Gore:  Men break down door to a home and take a child out of parents arms, child is later returned to parents; a man throws a block of concrete at a car and the car is damaged; a protest turns violent and a minor pushes an adult; a physical altercation between a man and a woman occurs in a brief scene; a bombing at a foot race is mentioned to have occurred in the past; bombing of abortion clinics is mentioned; mentions of injuries sustained after a bombing, some brief mention of body parts injured; a brief scene occurs with an armed man in a standoff with police, man is mentioned to be shot and killed by officers; a woman hits a man who is harassing her; a synagogue is damaged by protesters and description of the damage done is given; Hurricane Katrina and damaged houses are mentioned/recalled. 

Sex/Nudity:  Sexual activity between minors is mentioned; condom wrappers are mentioned to be littering the ground in a park; a comment is made about a girl being sexually active.

Mature Subject Matter:

Terrorism; Bombing; Racism; Destruction of Church; Loss of a Parent; Equality.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Generalized drug use is referred to; minors are reported to smoke and drink, no description given; a minor is offered alcohol by an adult; an adult drinks alcohol.