FORGIVE ME NOT

Violetta wanted a classy night of connection and affection with boyfriend Pascal; instead, the night ends up being one of destruction, despair, and death.

Fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels’ decision to drive drunk caused the death of her 7-year-old sister, Vivian. Now she’s incarcerated in a juvenile justice facility, and her family has declined to forgive her, instead requesting that she participate in the Trials, interactive experiences ostensibly designed to teach her the severity of her actions. In chapters told from the alternating perspectives of Violetta and Vincent, her older brother, the circumstances that led up to the night of Vivian’s death are explored, as are Violetta’s experience of incarceration and her realization that forgiving herself may be more important than attaining the forgiveness of others. Central themes include questions of what constitutes justice, the state’s role in achieving it, and the ways that power and privilege corrupt the pursuit of it. Baker’s writing excels at showing rather than telling through vivid details that contribute to pacing that drags in the middle, although the last quarter of the book feels rushed. Violetta and her siblings are Chinese American on their mom’s side, and their dad is Black. Vincent and an aunt are unapologetically queer, as are some other supporting characters.

A multilayered, if uneven consideration of family, justice, the pressures teens face, and the power of forgiveness.