Target by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson

Gut Instinct Rating - 4

Characters - 4.5

Believability for type and topics - 5

Similarity to other books - 4

Writing Style - 5

Excitement Factor - 4.5

Story Line - 5

Title Relevance - 4.5

Dust Jacket Art - 3

Goodreads users gave this book a 3.81. I think it was more deserving of a 4.39.

Emoji Meter: 😡 😥 🤗

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Published in 2003.

Pages: 175.

Number of books by author: 5 Novels.

Genre: YA Ficiton.

Overall, this book was really well done. I totally would recommend reading this book. Now, it isn't for the weak hearts by any means. It will make you angry, then sad, but it does leave you feeling hopeful (see how I did that there with those emojis?). It lost some of its grit, which is what made me feel anger and sadness, towards the end, but overall, this book was really well done. The author not only knew what she was talking about - but also executed the information well, which is hard to do with a topic like male rape victims or survivors. I was a bit disappointed with the characters, however (and this is just me being extremely picky). They felt replicated. Imagine the breakfast club, but worse. This book was written at least a year before it was published, but I'll estimate two years... so about 2001, so the stereotypes are even more dramatized, but I think because of that, I wanted more and less at the same time. For your stereotypical black male teenager, they couldn't have done a better job - resents white people, only wants pussy, fears gay men, resists authority. What they did that didn't make sense - is they paired the black male who resents white people as the best friend of a white character. So this was a contradicting factor that didn't make sense - although, with some added story line, it could've worked really well. You had the gay kid, although - he wasn't your stereotype. He wasn't feminine, he wasn't closeted, he wasn't surrounded with female friends. In fact, he was macho, out, and friends with both sexes and genders. So I was kind of surprised that for a book written at the lower end of gay acceptance in high schools that we didn't see a more "gay" character (coming from a lesbian, I can't believe I'm saying these things, but the idea behind these characters was to bring out stereotypes, but I'm also really grateful the author didn't make him a Queen all at once). So on-and-so-on. The

author, as I said before, did a really good job of getting all the details, emotions, and facts right with a male rape. It was incredibly realistic and there was no doubt in my mind that she didn't pull the information straight from someone else's story, altering a few details to protect someone's identity. I realized about a quarter of the way, through, however, that I had read a similar story line before.... when I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It's unlikely Johnson had any ideas about the premise of Speak when she wrote Target, but they are pretty similar in nature. The novel progressed well and I wasn't bored... there were some moments of repetition where I could've easily done without, but it wasn't poorly done. The story line itself carried through from start to finish smoothly and without fault. While unrelated to the story line, there were two typos, both towards the end of the book. I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again... HOW?! This wasn't self-published, but it is a small publishing firm (Roaring Book Press). Regardless, typos are unacceptable in a published work of art... an artist wouldn't forget to complete a hand in a finished painting; or a musician leave 3 seconds of a track on a CD blank and then continue playing on a finished product. It's a pet peeve and while I won't remember it five years from now, it's something that annoys me (but it does not impact the score the book receives). The title was fine. I think "Target" was used heavily in the front end of the book and removed almost entirely in the back end. It was fine. I don't love it or hate it. It worked with the book's purpose, but if I were the author/publisher/editor, I would've picked something else - Silence, perhaps, would've fit better with Grady's personality and recovery. The dust-jacket that I received, although destroyed (used books, yay), was ugly... (see above) and while it was fine, I totally would've liked another edition.