Shoot the Storm

I requested this book not only because I liked the synopsis but because it's a story told in verse. If you are a fan of Angie Thomas or curious about her writing but don't feel quite ready to embark on full novels, this might be a good way to introduce yourself to the same themes. This story features grief and gang and violent culture quite prominently but the focus of it is in Aaliyah, a gifted basketball player who after seeing her father murdered in front of her, decides to seek revenge. This book was so good because it never treated Aaliya as anything other than a person, a teenager in pain, surrounded by people that were in just as much suffering so they could not give her answers nor the support she needed. At the same time, the lessons she had learnt from her father never disappeared from her mind and were there for her when she chose to learn from them. I liked the way this book ended because we leave Aaliya with so much to accomplish and the tools to do so. I don't need to know what happens next, because I know what kind of strength and wisdom she has and I know she will make something good.

Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 for this DRC

Rating: 4/5

Shoot the Storm is a really well constructed novel in verse. Aaliyah is an engaging, realistic character, and the story was interesting and easy to follow. A good read for anyone who's interested in reading a verse novel but isn't sure where to start.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A novel in verse in the style of Clap When You Land/Poet X/Long Way Down.

Has the grit of the latter and the female protagonist of the former. The story sped through Aaliyah's story and I felt, at times, didn't do her or the storyline justice. It had time and space for greater character and plot development.

That said, it's a lovely, pacey little read which leaves us cheering for our protagonist beyond the basketball court.

Recommended for Y9/KS4.

The cover on this book is quite dark and stark, perhaps hinting about what is to come from within the book. The cover shows a basketball court and hoop, so you may think the “shoot” in the title refers to shooting a basket, well it has a double meaning.

The main character Aaliyah suffered the trauma of seeing her father shot on the basketball court. This horrific incident affected Aaliyah so much she stopped talking. Aaliyah takes after her father having the gift of being a brilliant basketball player, after discovering her father was also great at rapping, she starts doing it herself and discovers she has a talent for that too. It seems the only way is up for Aaliyah, until the opportunity occurs, she decides she wants revenge on her father’s killer. Aaliyah’s gets sucked into the dark world her father was part of with gangs, guns and plenty of scores to settle. Her grades drop at school, meaning she is threatened with not being able to play her beloved basketball. Then when Aaliyah and her team have the chance to win the ultimate game, a gang leader that she is tied up with demands his price for helping her out. What will she do? If she betrays the gang there will be consequences, but if she does what they ask she will betray her team mates.

I liked the character of Aaliyah, she hasn’t had the best home life. Her mother sending her to live with her paternal grandparents when she gets a new partner and has a new baby. Her grandparents deeply care for her and she helps them out at their diner. I also loved Aaliyah’s grandfather when he turns detective to help his granddaughter.

The book is told in verse making it a pretty fast read for me though if anyone said would I read poetry I would have wrinkled my nose and said no thanks! However, the story really quickly draws you in and is certainly a page turner. The book is also a Hi-Lo read meaning it is of high interest but that you don’t have to be an exceptional reader to read it. Anything that encourages more people to read and helps to get them into doing it on a regular basis is a great idea in my opinion.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that it had been a great short read, told in verse and that it had handled more than one difficult subject really well.

To sum up I think this book would be a great conversation starter about being drawn into gangs and there always being a price to pay for the favour the gang may appear to freely give you.

Beautiful story. Esta contado como el libro Call Me Athena.
Poemario que cuenta un historia hermosa. Como implementa el ser negro en la sociedad y el racismo, como la diferencia de clases esta muy bien implementado y llevado.
Atrapante en todo sentido.