"Air" by Ryan Gattis

Initially, I liked this book more than "The Hate U Give" because it is just better written.  The lead character, Grey, has a story to tell and I found that more compelling than Starr, who has a point to make.  SPOILER ALERT  The tale begins powerfully, with Grey arriving home with his brother and sisters to find his mother murdered, his estranged father covered in blood and being taken away by the police.  The family is split up and Grey is sent to live with his dowager aunt in Baltimore.  Feeling at loose ends he faces neighborhood bullies and finds a soul-mate in a young man who elevates Grey's skills with BMX bikes to illegal street acts on a dirt bike.  From there, the tale actually drags a bit.  Gattis delves into very specific details about the art of dirt bike and BMX stunts without advancing the storyline much.  There are the evil white cops who are out to get them (as black teens) which was one of the plot-points I struggled with.  I'm not saying this isn't an issue.  In Baltimore, it absolutely is (um, the main character is named Grey -- duh, the author is pointing directly at Freddie Gray), but the cops are drawn with such a broad stroke that they seem about as dimensional as the mustachioed villain of a 1920s melodrama.  Grey, who is a bright young man and stellar student, doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the box.  He is actually surprised when the cops show up at his school and ID him, despite the fact that his image is all over YouTube.  But the cops don't actually ID him -- they know his alias and what school he goes to but can't seem to figure out his real name or address.  It is one of several places in the book where Gattis relies on the letter of the law (schools can't give out student info to police without a warrant) but is ignorant of the reality.  If a cop shows up on campus and points at a kid and asks what his name is, a student, teacher or administrator is going to tell him the kid's name.  It creates an artificiality to the novel which doesn't need to be there.  There are powerful story-lines to explore but Gattis gets caught up in driving the tale to a specific end which feels more contrived than real.  Grey himself has many issues -- the loss of his siblings, his mother, his father's guilt, his own multiracial heritage and how that makes him feel separate from everyone.  These issues are all touched on but not really addressed in depth.  Instead, we watch Grey spiral down into bigger, more dangerous stunts until he literally risks his life.  At this point, I'm thinking I'm getting too old to be reading YA novels anymore.  Grey is acting like almost every 17 year old boy.  Instead of dealing with his feelings, understanding the repercussions of his actions, he acts on impulse and in the moment.  I found myself agreeing with his Aunt Blue's point of view more than Grey's insistence on "freedom" which seemed like a juvenile version of "I can do whatever I want and screw the laws and the cops and everyone".  I might have been able to live with it if he grew up a little and learned from his experiences at the end but the resolution (which is somewhat vague) seems to be dropping out of school, living on the run and continuing his illegal, dangerous exploits.  The novel gets snaps for heart (Aunt Blue states, several times, that she can love the kid without loving his choices) and most teens will revel in the anarchist message but I just kept wishing the guy would wear a helmet.  Oh well.