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Hush
Twelve-year-old Toswiah finds her life changed when her family enters the witness protection program.
181 pages, Paperback
First published February 29, 2000
About the author
Jacqueline Woodson
77 books8,519 followersI used to say I’d be a teacher or a lawyer or a hairdresser when I grew up but even as I said these things, I knew what made me happiest was writing.
I wrote on everything and everywhere. I remember my uncle catching me writing my name in graffiti on the side of a building. (It was not pretty for me when my mother found out.) I wrote on paper bags and my shoes and denim binders. I chalked stories across sidewalks and penciled tiny tales in notebook margins. I loved and still love watching words flower into sentences and sentences blossom into stories.
I also told a lot of stories as a child. Not “Once upon a time” stories but basically, outright lies. I loved lying and getting away with it! There was something about telling the lie-story and seeing your friends’ eyes grow wide with wonder. Of course I got in trouble for lying but I didn’t stop until fifth grade.
That year, I wrote a story and my teacher said “This is really good.” Before that I had written a poem about Martin Luther King that was, I guess, so good no one believed I wrote it. After lots of brouhaha, it was believed finally that I had indeed penned the poem which went on to win me a Scrabble game and local acclaim. So by the time the story rolled around and the words “This is really good” came out of the otherwise down-turned lips of my fifth grade teacher, I was well on my way to understanding that a lie on the page was a whole different animal — one that won you prizes and got surly teachers to smile. A lie on the page meant lots of independent time to create your stories and the freedom to sit hunched over the pages of your notebook without people thinking you were strange.
Lots and lots of books later, I am still surprised when I walk into a bookstore and see my name on a book’s binder. Sometimes, when I’m sitting at my desk for long hours and nothing’s coming to me, I remember my fifth grade teacher, the way her eyes lit up when she said “This is really good.” The way, I — the skinny girl in the back of the classroom who was always getting into trouble for talking or missed homework assignments — sat up a little straighter, folded my hands on the desks, smiled and began to believe in me.
I wrote on everything and everywhere. I remember my uncle catching me writing my name in graffiti on the side of a building. (It was not pretty for me when my mother found out.) I wrote on paper bags and my shoes and denim binders. I chalked stories across sidewalks and penciled tiny tales in notebook margins. I loved and still love watching words flower into sentences and sentences blossom into stories.
I also told a lot of stories as a child. Not “Once upon a time” stories but basically, outright lies. I loved lying and getting away with it! There was something about telling the lie-story and seeing your friends’ eyes grow wide with wonder. Of course I got in trouble for lying but I didn’t stop until fifth grade.
That year, I wrote a story and my teacher said “This is really good.” Before that I had written a poem about Martin Luther King that was, I guess, so good no one believed I wrote it. After lots of brouhaha, it was believed finally that I had indeed penned the poem which went on to win me a Scrabble game and local acclaim. So by the time the story rolled around and the words “This is really good” came out of the otherwise down-turned lips of my fifth grade teacher, I was well on my way to understanding that a lie on the page was a whole different animal — one that won you prizes and got surly teachers to smile. A lie on the page meant lots of independent time to create your stories and the freedom to sit hunched over the pages of your notebook without people thinking you were strange.
Lots and lots of books later, I am still surprised when I walk into a bookstore and see my name on a book’s binder. Sometimes, when I’m sitting at my desk for long hours and nothing’s coming to me, I remember my fifth grade teacher, the way her eyes lit up when she said “This is really good.” The way, I — the skinny girl in the back of the classroom who was always getting into trouble for talking or missed homework assignments — sat up a little straighter, folded my hands on the desks, smiled and began to believe in me.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
January 18, 2015
Outstanding. Written nearly fifteen years ago, yet this could have happened yesterday. Woodson writes the most compelling, believable characters. And she approaches her expected reader-the young adult-with no need to soft pedal or condescend. These are real struggles and vital themes, written to include and explore. What an incredibly gifted writer.
October 20, 2009
This is one of those books that I am so glad I decided to pick up. Through this novel, Ms. Woodson gives us insight into a difficult situation that a family might face: that making a major decision can have significant consequences that affect the whole family. As the family in this book learns, making a decision to do the right thing does not necessarily give a person peace and might end up causing other problems. As a good author of contemporary realistic fiction, Ms. Woodson gives us (the readers) a chance to experience a situation that could really happen and allows us the chance to really contemplate and explore the issues at hand. What would we do if we witnessed an injustice such as the one the father sees: an unarmed black boy shot by not one, but two fellow police officers? Would we tell the truth as to what we saw or keep quiet and save the reputation of our friends? If we were part of his family, would we support him in his decision, even if it meant moving, changing our names and our lives. It is not just a story about a family forced to go into the Witness Protection Program, but a story of a family’s struggle to stay intact after such a life-altering choice is made. It is about people trying to find themselves, when everything else has been taken away.
This story is even more poignant since it is told from the point of view of a girl on the precipice of her teenage years. This is already a trying time in a young girl’s life, but when she is challenged by outside forces as well, she is forced to meet this collision head-on. She must ask herself some difficult questions about the world, life, herself, and how she fits into all of this. Ms. Woodson addresses these frustrations and difficulties with honesty, showing each character’s weaknesses along with their strengths. Each of the family members must deal with issues in his or her own way. While the author does not necessarily answer the tough questions brought forth in this novel, she does provide the characters, and us, with a sense of hope. Even decisions to choose right over wrong have consequences. These might not be ideal, but life is what you make of it.
This book is especially suited for 6th through 9th graders. (I would note, though, that the words “damn” and “hell” are used once or twice in the book. These are consistent with the tone of the story and not used gratuitously. I would, perhaps ask the principle what he/she might do about this, while pointing out the great merit of incorporating this coming-of-age story in the curriculum.) I would have the students read the first three chapters in order to figure out what major issue instigates the story; what is the challenge the family faced with. Then I would assign reading in chunks/ sets of pages at a time, having students keep track of how each family member deals with the crisis at hand. I would have them note the turning point for each character and how/ if the character finds peace with these decisions. I would also have students note the use of point of view, asking them why/ how it makes a difference that the story is told by a girl at the beginning of her teenage years. Probing further, I would pose two questions: 1) Why do you think the author chose to tell this story through Toswiah/Evie’s point of view? (Author’s purpose); 2) How would the story have been different if it had been told from a different character’s point of view? Some possible assignments would be: 1) Write another chapter talking about what the family would be like in a year or two (or more), 2) Find a part of the story and write about what happens from the point of view of one of the other characters, 3) Use a graphic organizer to show how each family member deals with the father’s decision and the subsequent move/ becoming part of the Witness Protection Program (see earlier in the paragraph about noting character development; 4) Write about what might have happened had the father made a different decision at the beginning of the story. What decision would that be? What might have occurred? How would people in the story have been affected? All of these assignments would focus on character development, decisions and their consequences, and voice/ point of view. The third assignment would be a good, straight-forward way to see the development of each character. It would also be appropriate for those in need of a visual, clear way of organizing information or students, such as students with Asberger’s Syndrome, to be able to approach the idea of character development, even if they have trouble with the emotional, empathetic aspects of understanding Voice and Point of View. This novel also might be paired with such other works as “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl” (historical/ biography) or other stories that involve preteens and teens dealing with identity issues in circumstances where there are outside forces controlling/affecting their lives. Comparisons and contrasts can be made looking at how these situations affect the child who is already going through the transformation from child to teenager/ teen to adult. How did the characters show personal growth, inner strength, maturity, etc?
This story is even more poignant since it is told from the point of view of a girl on the precipice of her teenage years. This is already a trying time in a young girl’s life, but when she is challenged by outside forces as well, she is forced to meet this collision head-on. She must ask herself some difficult questions about the world, life, herself, and how she fits into all of this. Ms. Woodson addresses these frustrations and difficulties with honesty, showing each character’s weaknesses along with their strengths. Each of the family members must deal with issues in his or her own way. While the author does not necessarily answer the tough questions brought forth in this novel, she does provide the characters, and us, with a sense of hope. Even decisions to choose right over wrong have consequences. These might not be ideal, but life is what you make of it.
This book is especially suited for 6th through 9th graders. (I would note, though, that the words “damn” and “hell” are used once or twice in the book. These are consistent with the tone of the story and not used gratuitously. I would, perhaps ask the principle what he/she might do about this, while pointing out the great merit of incorporating this coming-of-age story in the curriculum.) I would have the students read the first three chapters in order to figure out what major issue instigates the story; what is the challenge the family faced with. Then I would assign reading in chunks/ sets of pages at a time, having students keep track of how each family member deals with the crisis at hand. I would have them note the turning point for each character and how/ if the character finds peace with these decisions. I would also have students note the use of point of view, asking them why/ how it makes a difference that the story is told by a girl at the beginning of her teenage years. Probing further, I would pose two questions: 1) Why do you think the author chose to tell this story through Toswiah/Evie’s point of view? (Author’s purpose); 2) How would the story have been different if it had been told from a different character’s point of view? Some possible assignments would be: 1) Write another chapter talking about what the family would be like in a year or two (or more), 2) Find a part of the story and write about what happens from the point of view of one of the other characters, 3) Use a graphic organizer to show how each family member deals with the father’s decision and the subsequent move/ becoming part of the Witness Protection Program (see earlier in the paragraph about noting character development; 4) Write about what might have happened had the father made a different decision at the beginning of the story. What decision would that be? What might have occurred? How would people in the story have been affected? All of these assignments would focus on character development, decisions and their consequences, and voice/ point of view. The third assignment would be a good, straight-forward way to see the development of each character. It would also be appropriate for those in need of a visual, clear way of organizing information or students, such as students with Asberger’s Syndrome, to be able to approach the idea of character development, even if they have trouble with the emotional, empathetic aspects of understanding Voice and Point of View. This novel also might be paired with such other works as “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl” (historical/ biography) or other stories that involve preteens and teens dealing with identity issues in circumstances where there are outside forces controlling/affecting their lives. Comparisons and contrasts can be made looking at how these situations affect the child who is already going through the transformation from child to teenager/ teen to adult. How did the characters show personal growth, inner strength, maturity, etc?
November 23, 2015
There's a lot in this book, and it's very subtly done. On the surface, it's about a family that has gone into witness protection, as seen through the viewpoint of the youngest daughter. They've all had to leave everything behind, including many of the things that made up their self-identities as people. It's also about discovering who you are when your reference points have been ripped away.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
March 3, 2020
This level U book was different than a typical book dealing with a social issue for elementary school students. The father, a cop, witnesses a murder of an innocent person by two other police officers, and refuses to go along with the "it was in self-defense" line that the other two give, so the family is forced to go into the Witness Protection Program. All this is difficult for the two sisters, mother and father, as they have to readjust their whole lives. What I did not care for was the somewhat slow pace of the book. It seemed like every other page has an "I felt" or "I thought" sentence. But then again, that's Jacqueline Woodson's style. Still a pretty intense book dealing with right and wrong, black and white, and whether justice is worth it all of the time.
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July 12, 2010Snapshot: Hush is about a family in Witness Protection after the father, a former cop, testifies in a murder trial. The family moves and each member copes with the changes differently. Evie, the book's main character, is caught in the web of family drama while trying to figure out what this change means for her.
Hook: I think students would be intrigued by the idea of a teenager in Witness Protection. The book sort of opens up a secret that is enticing. Also, Evie's struggle is ultimately uplifting as she learns to rely on herself. Many students would identify with family members going through their own crises that make life hard, and they would be inspired by this thoughtfully told story.
Challenges: The timing of the novel is non-linear--lots of flashbacks and jumps through time. The text features help to set this off, and eventually readers get into the groove of the cues.
Students in Mind: While this novel plays with time, the language itself is not incredibly difficult. I would recommend this story to most students at an intermediate ELD level. While many students would be able to access this book, I would probably recommend it more to girls (due to the female lead character).
Conference Note: How does the author let you know the time has changed? Do you think the flashbacks work to tell the story, or would you prefer everything were told chronologically? Can you think of any times you had to hide (a part of) who you are? What do you think you would do if you had to become a new person overnight?
Level: Advance beginner and up; middle school and up.
Hook: I think students would be intrigued by the idea of a teenager in Witness Protection. The book sort of opens up a secret that is enticing. Also, Evie's struggle is ultimately uplifting as she learns to rely on herself. Many students would identify with family members going through their own crises that make life hard, and they would be inspired by this thoughtfully told story.
Challenges: The timing of the novel is non-linear--lots of flashbacks and jumps through time. The text features help to set this off, and eventually readers get into the groove of the cues.
Students in Mind: While this novel plays with time, the language itself is not incredibly difficult. I would recommend this story to most students at an intermediate ELD level. While many students would be able to access this book, I would probably recommend it more to girls (due to the female lead character).
Conference Note: How does the author let you know the time has changed? Do you think the flashbacks work to tell the story, or would you prefer everything were told chronologically? Can you think of any times you had to hide (a part of) who you are? What do you think you would do if you had to become a new person overnight?
Level: Advance beginner and up; middle school and up.
October 19, 2012
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to the child in a family that enters witness protection?
I hadn't thought about it, much, before I read Hush by Jacqueline Woodson.
In this book, the main character - Toswiah Green, who has to change her name and becomes Evie Thomas - is grappling with leaving the life and friends she loved and coming to a new place. Instead of being a member of an ideal family, her family is in crisis. The decision to testify has torn her father apart, and ripped through the entire family fabric.
This is her story. A story where she asks what is right, where she grieves for the past, and where she barely dares to hope things might end up all right again.
I hadn't thought about it, much, before I read Hush by Jacqueline Woodson.
In this book, the main character - Toswiah Green, who has to change her name and becomes Evie Thomas - is grappling with leaving the life and friends she loved and coming to a new place. Instead of being a member of an ideal family, her family is in crisis. The decision to testify has torn her father apart, and ripped through the entire family fabric.
This is her story. A story where she asks what is right, where she grieves for the past, and where she barely dares to hope things might end up all right again.
April 16, 2011
Jacqueline Woodson is my most favorite writer. She has this beautiful way a telling a story that just captures her readers and listeners. I'm on a Woodson rampage right now. I will read every book she has every written; picture books and chapter books alike. I think I have read about 25% of her books. And I'm really enjoying it! Can't wait to pick up the others. It is my desire to pass her works down to my future genereations just as the classics have been.
January 25, 2009
first 18 chapters: boring
last 9 chapters: great
also, when Jonathan cuts himself with glass, that was soooooo random!
last 9 chapters: great
also, when Jonathan cuts himself with glass, that was soooooo random!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2012
Heather Stewart
Adventure
This is a story about a colored girl named Toswiah whose family gets put into the witness protection program. Her father was a police officer who witnessed two other officers shoot an innocent colored boy. Her family must leave the home they’ve always known and change their names and identities without telling their loved ones. The story deals with the consequences of this change and how her whole family is affected. I would not have put this in the adventure category; it was more realistic fiction to me. It would help teens deal with the issues of moving to a new place and the struggles associated with that.
Adventure
This is a story about a colored girl named Toswiah whose family gets put into the witness protection program. Her father was a police officer who witnessed two other officers shoot an innocent colored boy. Her family must leave the home they’ve always known and change their names and identities without telling their loved ones. The story deals with the consequences of this change and how her whole family is affected. I would not have put this in the adventure category; it was more realistic fiction to me. It would help teens deal with the issues of moving to a new place and the struggles associated with that.
July 24, 2019
4.5 stars.
Towsiah Green has a perfect family and a happy life. That is what she always thought until on day, her father, a policeman, saw two of his fellow policemen gunned down an innocent kid and he decided to become a witness in the trial. The decision is like a hammer that strike the foundation of the happy life that they have and everything comes crumbling down. Now, they need to move, change their names and live a totally new life. The story is told by Evie Thomas, the new Towsiah. I like how present and the past woven so perfectly, by the end of it, a reader could tell the back story of Towsiah and the current tale of Evie. We could totally see how Evie and her family struggled and most importantly, how Towsiah matured and become Evie.
The story also questions what is the right thing to do in the situation where doing the right thing is also means to lose everything in your life.
It's sad however, to realize that the same race issue is still relevant in today's time and generation after it was written in this book almost 20 years ago.
December 22, 2015
The Book: Hush, Jacqueline Woodson.
The Banhammer: I honestly can't find the reasons this was banned. I mean, I've looked, but there's nothing. I'm guessing because it's about a black girl whose family has to deal with racial injustice, and heaven knows we can't have that.
My Reaction: Okay but this is great? I love Hush. I love Jacqueline Woodson's books in general, but Hush is definitely one of my favorites. Despite that, I don't think I'd reread it anytime soon. Hush deals with some pretty severe and serious topics-- racial injustice, the shooting of black children by police, white cops threatening a black cop, witness protection and the stress it puts on the families in it, depression, even a suicide attempt-- and Woodson doesn't shy away from any of it. Her narrator Toswiah is angry and hurt and frightened and lonely, and you feel it in every painful detail.
Um, quick plot summary: Toswiah Green and her family have an idyllic life in Denver until her father, the only black cop in his precinct, witnesses two of his fellow officers shooting a black boy without provocation. He testifies against them, and he and his family have to go into witness protection. Hush is Toswiah's attempt to come to terms with her new life and identity, and everything she's lost as a result. It's such a good book, it really is; I'm just not sure it's one I can read more than once.
Do I Buy Its Banning? I don't know, because I can't freaking find out why it was banned. Alas.
Would I Recommend It? Yes, absolutely. At least once. It was published in 2006 but it's still so painfully relevant, and.. just, yeah, read it.
The Banhammer: I honestly can't find the reasons this was banned. I mean, I've looked, but there's nothing. I'm guessing because it's about a black girl whose family has to deal with racial injustice, and heaven knows we can't have that.
My Reaction: Okay but this is great? I love Hush. I love Jacqueline Woodson's books in general, but Hush is definitely one of my favorites. Despite that, I don't think I'd reread it anytime soon. Hush deals with some pretty severe and serious topics-- racial injustice, the shooting of black children by police, white cops threatening a black cop, witness protection and the stress it puts on the families in it, depression, even a suicide attempt-- and Woodson doesn't shy away from any of it. Her narrator Toswiah is angry and hurt and frightened and lonely, and you feel it in every painful detail.
Um, quick plot summary: Toswiah Green and her family have an idyllic life in Denver until her father, the only black cop in his precinct, witnesses two of his fellow officers shooting a black boy without provocation. He testifies against them, and he and his family have to go into witness protection. Hush is Toswiah's attempt to come to terms with her new life and identity, and everything she's lost as a result. It's such a good book, it really is; I'm just not sure it's one I can read more than once.
Do I Buy Its Banning? I don't know, because I can't freaking find out why it was banned. Alas.
Would I Recommend It? Yes, absolutely. At least once. It was published in 2006 but it's still so painfully relevant, and.. just, yeah, read it.
February 23, 2010
Hush by Jacqueline Woodson is a chapter book intended for readers in third through sixth grade. I gave it four stars. Evie Thomas and her family are forced to move out of Denver, out of the lives they knew so well. Her father, a police officer, had to testify against two of his fellow officers in the shooting of a black boy. The testimony leaves the family unsafe and unsettled, as they move out of Denver and assume new identities so they can remain safe after the testimony sends the two officers to jail. Evie and her sister Anna, both young teenagers, alongside their newly-confirmed Jehovah Witness mother and depressed father, must find new identities in their new life, full of fear, the unknown, and a bit of unending family love and hope. Woodson’s story of unending struggle and love one family endures to stay intact will connect with readers who have ever felt out of place, out of touch, searching for their own life’s meaning. A family’s connectedness amongst a fearful situation will have readers asking and answering the same questions as Evie: Who am I? Who am I, really? This is truly a powerful text about leaving your old life behind and trying to find an even better you amongst the new and unknown.
September 4, 2015
This short, accessible story prompts readers to think about the racial issues the characters live through. Showing her poetic background, Woodson weaves prose poetry in the regular narrative to the point you’re not sure if you’re reading a novel with poetry in it or an entire prose poem.
It’s completely plausible to imagine this book on an assigned reading list provided by a teacher. It’s even possible to imagine a student deciding he didn’t totally hate the reading of it. It is difficult, however, to imagine a teen who prefers genre offerings to pick this one up by choice.
Given Toswiah’s age of 12, that puts the probable readership for Hush anywhere from 9 to 11. Fortunately, the brief length of the book accommodates such younger readers. Although the imagistic nature of the poetic prose may present more abstract thinking than the young reader is used to, the actual vocabulary and wording shouldn’t pose much of a problem. Perhaps this would be a good book to read aloud.
The cover will be nothing special to readers, especially those forced into the book’s acquaintance by an assigned reading. The skin tone of the book model immediately lets us know a little about the book’s milieu and characters.
It’s completely plausible to imagine this book on an assigned reading list provided by a teacher. It’s even possible to imagine a student deciding he didn’t totally hate the reading of it. It is difficult, however, to imagine a teen who prefers genre offerings to pick this one up by choice.
Given Toswiah’s age of 12, that puts the probable readership for Hush anywhere from 9 to 11. Fortunately, the brief length of the book accommodates such younger readers. Although the imagistic nature of the poetic prose may present more abstract thinking than the young reader is used to, the actual vocabulary and wording shouldn’t pose much of a problem. Perhaps this would be a good book to read aloud.
The cover will be nothing special to readers, especially those forced into the book’s acquaintance by an assigned reading. The skin tone of the book model immediately lets us know a little about the book’s milieu and characters.
October 25, 2009
The absolutely raw characters in Woodson has created in this story cannot help but provide pathways for readers to relate to them. The narrator's direct involvement of the reader, asking them to put their feet on the cold hardwood floors of their home and to smell the cedar trees around them, engages readers is strong sensory descriptions of the setting. As a reader, you cannot help but feel like you're experiencing this warm environment with your narrator. This is also why you can't help but feel heartbroken along with your narrator when this welcoming world is all taken away.
I personally connected to this book being that I have a police officer in my immediate family. I found myself questioning over and over what my life would be like if I was forced to join a witness protection program, leaving friends and family behind. There were even times that I had to put the book down after contemplating about how this family's life would transfer into my own if a similar event took place. My having to pause from my reading shows just how powerful personally connecting to a text can be.
I personally connected to this book being that I have a police officer in my immediate family. I found myself questioning over and over what my life would be like if I was forced to join a witness protection program, leaving friends and family behind. There were even times that I had to put the book down after contemplating about how this family's life would transfer into my own if a similar event took place. My having to pause from my reading shows just how powerful personally connecting to a text can be.
Read
May 24, 2010Toswiah Green, an African-American 12 year old girl must adapt to many changes in her life. Her father, a police officer, testifies against two fellow officers in a murder trial. The entire family is forced to enter the witness protection program in order to be safe. Toswiah struggles with her new identity, in a new town and school. She is stressed out over this difficult situation and the family also undergoes major stress.
I can't imagine how hard it must be to leave your friends, family and school to a different city and never be allowed to return. What a scary prospect of the future! Toswiah must have been a very brave girl. Her father must also be very brave to testify against two of his fellow police officers. I have moved to many differet countries. But we have moved voluntarily and were able to always keep in touch with our friends and family. What a courageous family!
I loved this book and would give it 5 stars! Jacqueline Woodson is and excellent writer. I felt Toswiah's pain and terror and moving to a new city. What tremendous courage and perseverence it must have taken to leave all of their loved ones!
I can't imagine how hard it must be to leave your friends, family and school to a different city and never be allowed to return. What a scary prospect of the future! Toswiah must have been a very brave girl. Her father must also be very brave to testify against two of his fellow police officers. I have moved to many differet countries. But we have moved voluntarily and were able to always keep in touch with our friends and family. What a courageous family!
I loved this book and would give it 5 stars! Jacqueline Woodson is and excellent writer. I felt Toswiah's pain and terror and moving to a new city. What tremendous courage and perseverence it must have taken to leave all of their loved ones!
September 9, 2016
This is an entirely beautiful book, and the sort of beauty that leaves you with tears stinging your eyes, and a sense of melancholy, but also promise and hope, all blurred into one incredibly complicated, overpowering emotion. I am amazed that the author achieved this, and in so few pages.
The story is told through the eyes of a girl. She's about twelve years old when her father, a cop, witnesses the murder of a young black boy, by two police officers on duty. He makes the difficult decision to testify against them. Woodson explores the dynamics of this event with so much emotional depth, and helps you deeply think about justice from so many angles, and how justice keeps feeling unjust, as it ripples.
The main character works through the ramifications of her father's decision, as her family is relocated, and have to literally evolve their identities. I love the way the author utilizes running as a metaphor for Toswiah's experience, and how we find things that save us, even when it seems like salvation is the least possible thing.
The story is told through the eyes of a girl. She's about twelve years old when her father, a cop, witnesses the murder of a young black boy, by two police officers on duty. He makes the difficult decision to testify against them. Woodson explores the dynamics of this event with so much emotional depth, and helps you deeply think about justice from so many angles, and how justice keeps feeling unjust, as it ripples.
The main character works through the ramifications of her father's decision, as her family is relocated, and have to literally evolve their identities. I love the way the author utilizes running as a metaphor for Toswiah's experience, and how we find things that save us, even when it seems like salvation is the least possible thing.
October 3, 2017
I do not recommend the audiobook. After suffering through the first third, I moved to print. Then I began to think it was "okay," and by the end, I liked it. Heavy topics, interesting symbolism and metaphorical imagery, and a quick read with parts that beg you to linger. So far, none of my 6th-8th grade girls (and one boy) who have chosen it for Battle of the Books have given it more than 2 stars, but it's definitely a quality middle-school-appropriate book, though not popular among its targeted age group, at least in my rural MS.
January 31, 2017
JACQUELINE WOODSON HAS WRECKED ME AND I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.
i kept on having to take breaks from this book because i needed time to recover from each heartbreak this book gave me. and wipe the tears from my eyes.
in which Jacqueline woodson writes a story about the daughter of a black cop who witnessed his coworkers murder a black boy back in 2002 and it is fucking brilliant and shqkjDhahakjajqhahshjaj
leave me on the floor to pieces forever
i kept on having to take breaks from this book because i needed time to recover from each heartbreak this book gave me. and wipe the tears from my eyes.
in which Jacqueline woodson writes a story about the daughter of a black cop who witnessed his coworkers murder a black boy back in 2002 and it is fucking brilliant and shqkjDhahakjajqhahshjaj
leave me on the floor to pieces forever
November 14, 2012
Woodson's done it again! Hush tells the story of Toswiah Green, and her family's life before and after they go into witness protection. Like many of Woodson's books, this is a character driven novel and not plot driven. Woodson writes with such emotion the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride as Toswiah and her family figure out life after testifying. Lyrical, haunting, beautiful.
February 4, 2017
A well told tale of a family, originally living in Colorado, who move into the witness protection program. Difficult on the surface because of leaving friends and family behind and learning to answer to new names. This proves to be especially difficult for teenagers.
Woodson does a marvelous job to give voice to the concerns of the young women in this story.
Woodson does a marvelous job to give voice to the concerns of the young women in this story.
November 6, 2012
The characterization was realistic. Although it says fiction it reads like a real-life experience. I couldn't help but wonder if it was part of Jacqueline Woodson's life. Short book, easy read, in the young adult section. But still worth the time.
March 14, 2016
This is about how a little girl is telling her story how she had to move and change her identity. This story is written in third person view. Her grandma had told her mom hush because she is going to see her again one day.
February 17, 2013
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2015
What a beautiful book. I love Jacqueline Woodson's writing. Such a unique perspective.
April 29, 2019
Hush is an eye opening book. It carries real life situations that not everybody has gotten the chance to go through. Toswiah Green lives in Denver Colorado with her parents and older sister. She loves her life and hates the fact it all has to change. Her father is a cop and her mother is a teacher. Her father testified against two white cops gun down at an unarmed black teen. They entered a Witness protection program. This causes everything to change, even their names and where they live. Toswiah turns to running, her sister, Anna focuses on school work because she wants to escape, her mother turns to the Church and her father stares out the window. When Toswiah heard the story of the teenager she feel as if she knew him and how great of a person he must of been. She feels attacked because she too is african american. A lot happens along the way but they soon grow to appreciate their new lives. I recommend this book to anyone, it gives good insights to what someone can face and describes it so well. It shows real life struggles through strong characters.
April 10, 2020
This was an interesting book to read right now, as much of the world is being asked to stay home in order to contain the Covid-19 virus. In this story, the family is forced to go into witness protection after the father testifies in a murder trial. What this fictional family must endure is so much worse than what most of us are experiencing right now, that it was a good reminder to keep things in perspective! That being said, I wasn't enamored with the story and the ending totally left me hanging, which I hate. I thought this would be more about the crime itself, but this book is primarily about how the family copes with the drastic upheaval to their lives. Not a bad way to go, but not the story I was expecting.
April 29, 2023
I liked this book! Read it because we have several copies in our book room and was seeing if I could potentially teach it, and I could. Evie/Toswiah’s development from the time she moved to when she finally starts to feel a bit more herself was sweet, and I think the message of self acceptance, even in her extraordinary circumstances, is something that would do well in a high school classroom. I also liked the mix of present and flashbacks - it was a more interesting way to tell the story than completely linearly. Overall it didn’t blow me away, but it was a good read!
January 5, 2018
[NOTE: Spoilers ahead!]
Toswiah Green lives a happy and almost Edenic life in Denver, Colorado, with her parents and sister. But when her policeman father is a witness against some fellow cops who claim to have shot an unarmed black teenager in self-defense, the family begins to receive death threats, and they move into the Witness Protection Program. What follows is the surprising turn of events that changes Toswiah (now "Evie") and her family forever as they move to a tiny apartment in a large (and unnamed) city. Leaving their past and their former identities threatens to destroy them and all they hold dear—but as time goes on, a glimmer of hope does appear for their new futures and their new lives.
This is not necessarily a book about race, though certainly the events inspiring it are all about race. As recent events about the death of Trayvon Martin show us, we are still not a colorblind society. (I'm not implying that Trayvon's death was exactly like the one in Hush, since I know practically nothing about what actually transpired before he was shot. But I AM asserting that racial prejudice is still alive and well, and that the problem of racial prejudice either helped bring about Trayvon's death, or has at least fueled the huge public outcry to it.)
Coming back to the book: This is really a book more about identity itself. When Toswiah/Evie and her family are forced to forever leave behind almost everything that matters to them—not just their home and possessions, but basically ALL connections to their family and friends and past lives—they're forced to figure out just who they are now. Things don't go so well at first, and in fact most of the novel contains what seems to be Toswiah's repeating struggle of wishing she were back home and wondering whether her father did the right thing and watching her increasingly-depressed father slip closer and closer to oblivion. But near the end of the novel we see glimmers of hope for every member of the family, and suggestions that things will be better from now on. We even see that in some ways, the change might be a blessing in disguise.
I was excited to read a novel about the Witness Protection Program, as the only other novel I'd read like this was Zach's Lie, which I'd read in junior high. I was pleased, but also quite disappointed. This was my first Jacqueline Woodson novel, but though much of the language was beautiful—wonderful poetic metaphors, etc.—the plot of the novel seemed to plod on and on. There's a great deal of hemming and hawing about whether her father did the right thing and whether going into Witness Protection was the right choice. Toswiah/Evie seems to constantly bemoan her lost state, and while she does so beautifully, there's no direction to it. Different things happen to her, but for much of the novel she basically has the same response to everything: "Woe is me! I've lost my name! I've lost my friends! I've lost Denver! I'm losing my family! And I can't tell anyone!" Obviously this is a VERY legitimate response, but it didn't seem to go anywhere or mature for me as the novel went on. It just seemed like the same expressions and ventings over and over. And even though Toswiah seems to think at the end that this difficulty for her family may ultimately be a blessing in disguise, that moment is soured by some of the things still going on in her family: Her father's in the (mental?) hospital and, though better, will probably be there for some time, or perhaps forever. Her mother has joined a new religion, which certainly isn't bad, but because Woodson also constantly emphasizes how Mama's participation in the religion causes her to give less time to the family, and especially because the most positive moments with Mama as the book goes on are moments where we see bits of "old Mama" come back (like when she gets a job and starts dancing around with glee), it's implied that "old Mama" was better than "new [religious] Mama." Though I doubt that's what Woodson was trying to convey, it's what comes out in the book: old Mama was warm, vibrant, and caring; while new Mama seems more detached.
That having been said, this book does do a great job of conveying just how terrible something like the Witness Protection Program (which is supposed to help people) can be: Toswiah's dad goes into reclusive depression, the family drifts apart because they can't even talk to each other with their real names anymore. . . not a good thing. I don't think I got that about the Witness Protection Program from reading Zach's Lie, and it was something very important for me to understand.
I ultimately didn't enjoy Hush that much—I hope I will enjoy other Woodson novels more—but it was still a pretty good read. I could recommend this novel to kids even in middle school, though I think it will find a warmer reception among readers in their mid-teens and up.
Toswiah Green lives a happy and almost Edenic life in Denver, Colorado, with her parents and sister. But when her policeman father is a witness against some fellow cops who claim to have shot an unarmed black teenager in self-defense, the family begins to receive death threats, and they move into the Witness Protection Program. What follows is the surprising turn of events that changes Toswiah (now "Evie") and her family forever as they move to a tiny apartment in a large (and unnamed) city. Leaving their past and their former identities threatens to destroy them and all they hold dear—but as time goes on, a glimmer of hope does appear for their new futures and their new lives.
This is not necessarily a book about race, though certainly the events inspiring it are all about race. As recent events about the death of Trayvon Martin show us, we are still not a colorblind society. (I'm not implying that Trayvon's death was exactly like the one in Hush, since I know practically nothing about what actually transpired before he was shot. But I AM asserting that racial prejudice is still alive and well, and that the problem of racial prejudice either helped bring about Trayvon's death, or has at least fueled the huge public outcry to it.)
Coming back to the book: This is really a book more about identity itself. When Toswiah/Evie and her family are forced to forever leave behind almost everything that matters to them—not just their home and possessions, but basically ALL connections to their family and friends and past lives—they're forced to figure out just who they are now. Things don't go so well at first, and in fact most of the novel contains what seems to be Toswiah's repeating struggle of wishing she were back home and wondering whether her father did the right thing and watching her increasingly-depressed father slip closer and closer to oblivion. But near the end of the novel we see glimmers of hope for every member of the family, and suggestions that things will be better from now on. We even see that in some ways, the change might be a blessing in disguise.
I was excited to read a novel about the Witness Protection Program, as the only other novel I'd read like this was Zach's Lie, which I'd read in junior high. I was pleased, but also quite disappointed. This was my first Jacqueline Woodson novel, but though much of the language was beautiful—wonderful poetic metaphors, etc.—the plot of the novel seemed to plod on and on. There's a great deal of hemming and hawing about whether her father did the right thing and whether going into Witness Protection was the right choice. Toswiah/Evie seems to constantly bemoan her lost state, and while she does so beautifully, there's no direction to it. Different things happen to her, but for much of the novel she basically has the same response to everything: "Woe is me! I've lost my name! I've lost my friends! I've lost Denver! I'm losing my family! And I can't tell anyone!" Obviously this is a VERY legitimate response, but it didn't seem to go anywhere or mature for me as the novel went on. It just seemed like the same expressions and ventings over and over. And even though Toswiah seems to think at the end that this difficulty for her family may ultimately be a blessing in disguise, that moment is soured by some of the things still going on in her family: Her father's in the (mental?) hospital and, though better, will probably be there for some time, or perhaps forever. Her mother has joined a new religion, which certainly isn't bad, but because Woodson also constantly emphasizes how Mama's participation in the religion causes her to give less time to the family, and especially because the most positive moments with Mama as the book goes on are moments where we see bits of "old Mama" come back (like when she gets a job and starts dancing around with glee), it's implied that "old Mama" was better than "new [religious] Mama." Though I doubt that's what Woodson was trying to convey, it's what comes out in the book: old Mama was warm, vibrant, and caring; while new Mama seems more detached.
That having been said, this book does do a great job of conveying just how terrible something like the Witness Protection Program (which is supposed to help people) can be: Toswiah's dad goes into reclusive depression, the family drifts apart because they can't even talk to each other with their real names anymore. . . not a good thing. I don't think I got that about the Witness Protection Program from reading Zach's Lie, and it was something very important for me to understand.
I ultimately didn't enjoy Hush that much—I hope I will enjoy other Woodson novels more—but it was still a pretty good read. I could recommend this novel to kids even in middle school, though I think it will find a warmer reception among readers in their mid-teens and up.
July 4, 2020
I read this with my 9 year old. It was heavy, but it was hopeful as well.
August 10, 2020
Quick read-took me just a few hours, but it was a good read. Main character tells the story of her family’s world being turned upside down when her father, who is a police officer, chooses to testify against his fellow officers who shot and killed a teenage boy.
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