CROSSHAIRS

by Catherine Hernandez

This book is brilliant, on a par with 1984, and five years after it was written, is eerily timely. The story is set in a near-future where a regime called The Boots targets people of color, the disabled, and the LGBTQ+ community, leading to a resistance movement and that forms the basis of a compelling plot. Terrifying and thought-provoking, the action takes place in Toronto, which has become a world of state-sanctioned violence and forced labor camps. The book is beautifully ideologically sound, and Hernandez’s creed of total acceptance and passionate writing humanize the struggles of her characters. They divide easily—some might say too easily—into good and bad, but I like the simplicity of the narrative. Hopefully, this uncomplicated but exciting story will stir even the most hard-hearted.