Kiki in the Middle

This compelling novel-in-verse follows Kiki, sister to a police officer who is under fire for fatally shooting a mentally ill Black man. The author did a fantastic job exploring Kiki's internal conflict and being stuck in the middle. Kiki is a very well-developed character; I appreciate how she made effort to learn more about what she didn't understand, try and get to know the victim's family, and listen to every side of the story.

Police brutality, racism and mental illness are heavy topics handled with so much care and delicacy in this YA novel. It also highlighted the need for more resources to help those who are mentally ill. I loved the story being told from the lesser-known perspective of Kiki as we don't often hear from those caught in the middle of such important social issues.

A well-written and important read that I would definitely recommend!

The story of a young girl, Kiki who loves art but chooses only to use charcoal, never colour. Kiki signs up for an art class and attends with a mixture of very different characters. Kiki's brother shoots a mentally ill man called Ray during his shift as a Police Officer. The book tells how those around Kiki cope with the news. Kiki doesn't automatically jump to her brothers defence, though she cannot condemn him as her best friend would have her do either. Kiki learns the facts about what actually happened, she meets Ray's parents and educates herself about his mental health issues. As the title says quite simply Kiki finds herself literally 'in the middle' her family naturally support her brother Stavros and expect her to do the same, whereas her friends see the wider picture, know her brothers faults, and can only see Police brutality. Kiki has so much going on, damned no matter which 'side' she falls on.
Her only distraction and escapism is her art classes but soon the man her brother shot even haunts those. Her art class undertake many different drawing tasks, their final artwork to be worked on together is to paint a mural. With the support of her art group friends particularly 'Green eyed boy' who usually only draws hands, Kiki brings both sides of the argument/incident whilst at the same time shows the similarities between the two men at the centre of it.

I really enjoyed this short book. Very cleverly written, fast paced and so much covered within it.
Great, believable, and relatable characters put in an increasingly common situation. Perfect conversation starter book. I certainly found it captivating as well as thought provoking.

This was a genuinely great book about how family can blind you to reality and how you can't be silent forever. Kiki's journey was difficult, as it would be for anyone. Her brother, a new cop, killed someone who was mentally ill. Kiki was filled with messages of support from her family and anger from everyone around her. She doesn't want to be involved in this situation, but finds out that not even art, her greatest passion, can distract her from doing what needs to be done.

"I wish my parents would realize--
window blinds can't keep out the world."

I liked the use of the novel in verse form here, and the way Kiki's art is a metaphor for how she needs to view the world and her brother. She has to be brave to try new things, to not see the world in black and white,

But I'm not sure how I feel about this book or its take on police. I appreciate the awareness of police violence against those with mental health needs. But with police violence having such a strong (and very real) association with race, the absence of race in the conversation, or even being acknowledged, felt weird. It felt like a bizarre erasure of violence against blacks, or this too smooth solution of just “oh police just need more training” when the problem is way larger.

It also felt weird how black and white her friends were, with a lack of empathy or tact for Kiki's situation. They should understand that this would be difficult for her instead of just assuming she can side against her brother in an instant. The way they yell at her about her brother, instead of starting in suggestion with something like, "well Kiki, maybe your brother isn’t in the right." seemed odd and unrealistic, but most of all lacking the nuance the book seems to be arguing for.

Ironically, Kiki argues that the world needs more nuance and understanding, yet the book fails to provide this nuance with the portrayal of friends or the systemic problems with the justice system. I think this book had great potential but wish it would've thought more about the complex baggage a topic like police violence carries.