Age: 6th grade-high school
Activism: Wrongful convictions, police abuse, systemic racism
Tough Issues: Father on death row, historically reference lynching

A book that tackles modern day racism--especially modern-day slavery through the prison system--with an engaging mystery and some serious nail-biting moments makes this an excellent read for the intended audience (and adults as well). And the audience includes middle school (!!!), making this stand out among other YA books that grapple with American racism.

I will absolutely recommend this to tweens and teens, however the predominant presence of a "good cop"--one who's father was murdered by the police--feels like it's feeding the readers who still want to feel good about the police. Idk.