Creeboy

Gr 9 Up--Sixteen-year-old Josh lives at home with his mom, fierce sister Jade, and younger siblings. He prefers to be called Creeboy, the name he uses with the Warriors, an Indigenous gang headed by his incarcerated father and now run by his older brother, Darion, who goes by Razor. All of them are committed to their traditions, performing in dance competitions at powwows. Mom implores Josh to stay away from the Warriors, having already lost her husband and oldest child to gang life, but he refuses. After their house is burned to the ground in an apparent attack by the rival Rebels gang, she forces him out, leading him to move into the Warriors' house, a scene of constant fighting, smoking, and blaring music. One night, after Creeboy and Razor are ambushed by Rebels, Razor is shot. The story closes with a glimmer of hope as the family takes part in a sweat lodge ceremony with a spiritual elder. Wouters, identified in an author biography as Métis, includes much Cree vocabulary, though words are adequately explained in context. The book is written at a third grade reading level. VERDICT While it may require some handselling, the resentment and redemption narrative is strong and the action consistent. Recommended.

A novel for reluctant readers about gang violence set on a First Nations reserve in Canada. Sixteen-year-old Josh has dropped out of school. He lives with his family in Alberta on the fictional Pâ-ko-sey-i-mo-min reserve where his father was the head of the Warrior gang until he went to jail nearly a year ago. Josh's older brother, Darion, who goes by the gang name Razor, takes him under his wing: Josh is a Warrior initiate, dubbed Creeboy for his knowledge of Indigenous traditions. In this story of self-discovery, Creeboy needs to discover who he wants to be, choosing between his family in the gang and his family outside it, with costs on both sides. The story is written in the first-person perspective, allowing readers to understand Josh's inner thoughts. However, the characters feel like underdeveloped types playing out a predictable storyline involving an angry teenager, an incarcerated father, a gang member brother, and a worried mother. The book is filled with Cree vocabulary and knowledge, but these elements are not incorporated organically into the story or characterization. Readers seeking more nuanced representation of the impact of gangs on Indigenous communities would be better served by the graphic novel The Outside Circle by Patti LaBoucane-Benson and Kelly Mellings. Readers looking to understand the complexities of gang violence should look elsewhere. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.