Hush

Content Warning: This section contains mentions of racial violence.

Hush is written by acclaimed American writer Jacqueline Woodson. Woodson’s work includes books that span different age groups, from children to adults; her middle grade work is especially acclaimed, with her memoir Brown Girl Dreaming (2014), a novel in verse, winning the National Book Award. Hush is also a middle grade novel narrated by a young protagonist, Toswiah Green.

Hush is contemporary realistic fiction. It revolves around Toswiah’s family being forced to enter the Witness Protection Program, following her father’s decision to testify against his former colleagues, policemen who were involved in shooting and killing a Black teenager. This decision uproots the entire family, as they are forced to relocate and take on new identities. America’s history of police brutality and racial bias is an important part of the story’s background. Although penned in 2002, the novel’s social issues have existed long before its publication, and continue to persist within American society.

America’s history of police brutality extends as far back as the late 19th century (Police Brutality in the United States,). This stems from American policemen being conditioned by “danger imperative”—“a cultural frame that emphasizes violence and the need for officer safety” over trusting and protecting civilians (