Thank you, Astra Publishing House | Calkins Creek, for the copy of Pushing Hope by Raymond Santana. There wasn’t much actual text, so this would be perfect for reluctant readers.The illustrations were wonderful and told his story, which doesn’t dwell on the horror of a 14-year-old being unfairly incarcerated, but concentrates on how he overcame it and found his passion in art. I loved this deeply personal story, and it would be great for a school library for kids of all ages. 5 stars

Incredibly powerful and painful and essential. It was clear how Raymond Santana's innocence was robbed from him by his unjust conviction as well as the convictions of the other members of the Exonerated Five with his struggles to stick with his passions for art and fashion. Seeing the shirt at the end was extremely emotional and his emotions were clear even when not described on every page including through the pictures, especially ones of him crying. Seeing his interests, hopes, and feelings about his family is also a strong way to counter the way his humanhood has been stolen so many times by the rape allegations and the people who ignorantly believe him (it took every muscle in my body to keep the language with that polite) very similar to Starr's point in The Hate U Give when she says, "Khalil lived!"

This is really accessible and inspirational hi-lo read. I was expecting something like a graphic novel, but the pages alternate between spreads of large, simple text and (usually) full page illustrations. The illustrations are soft and earnest, and appear to be colored pencil and watercolor. The format feels much like a children’s picture book which I’m afraid will be off putting to some teenagers.

The content, however, is really relatable. For students unfamiliar with the exonerated 5 this will be eye opening. But it doesn’t linger on the court case or crime. The story is laser focused on Santana’s emotional experience and mindset - finding hope and purpose, mainly through art, in the midst of hardship.