IR VERDICT:
JERKWATER by Jamie Zerndt explores racial and discriminatory attitudes by residents of a town in modern-day upstate Wisconsin, including those of a teenage Ojibwa girl whose hatred of white people leads her on a destructive path. With bouts of blatantly racist behavior from just about everyone in the storyline, this somewhat-haunting and oftentimes disturbing saga will spur readers to examine their own thoughts and motives as judgments are formed in everyday life.