Policed by Alana Terry

When Kennedy Stern and her best friend Reuben drag themselves away from their grueling studies to enjoy a night off campus, getting pulled over by a belligerent cop isn't in either of their plans. When the police altercation turns violent, the media notes Reuben's dark skin and labels this instance of police brutality a hate crime. Those Kennedy trusts the most warn her not to get involved, but she owes it to Reuben to pursue justice regardless of the personal cost. Nothing remains a secret when a frenzied media and an embarrassed police department delve into Kennedy's and Reuben's backgrounds. Some truths, unfortunately, grow increasingly more painful the closer they get to the surface.


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About the Author:

Alana Terry is a pastor's wife, homeschooling mom, self-diagnosed chicken lady, and Christian suspense author. Her novels have won awards from Women of Faith, Book Club Network, Grace Awards, Readers' Favorite, and more. Alana's passion for social justice, human rights, and religious freedom shines through her writing, and her books are known for raising tough questions without preaching. 
She and her family live in rural Alaska where the northern lights in the winter and midnight sun in the summer make hauling water, surviving the annual mosquito apocalypse, and cleaning goat stalls in negative forty degrees worth every second.

My Take:

Racism, faith struggles, and several other issues are addressed by author Alana Terry in this book. Kennedy, from previous books, is a missionary kid studying at Harvard. Her father, a businessman in China, uses his business as a cover for his missionary work. Although, she spent many years surrounded by young people studying under her father, she has always seemed to be a bit insecure and unsteady in her faith.  The current turn of events in her life has her wondering if God even cares, or if He is just far off and too distant to be concerned with the hurting people of our world. How do all these tragedies fit into His plan?

A random stop by a hostile cop on the roadside as Kennedy and her friend Reuben were headed to a play off campus, took a turn for the worse. As both of them are accused of things they didn't do, to cover up the bad cop picture by the police forth, Kennedy has to decide whether she lets the issue go for the sake of peace or does she rise up and take a stand? It's a tough decision, with multiple people encouraging her to just let it go, while others think she should speak out against the wrong done. If vengeance is the Lord's, does that mean He will fix this? And how long will she have to wait while doing nothing?

Alana keeps it stimulating as she draws in the reader with the emotional turmoil going on in Kennedy's mind. You almost feel like it's you going through the inner unrest of the choices that need to be made. There is a ton of food for thought in this book, which is what I like about Alana's writings. She is not afraid to tackle the issues, but kind of leaves it somewhat open to readers point of view too, mostly giving you something to chew on as you read. Is our God big enough to handle the hurts of the world? The book takes place over a matter of days, most of it consisting of the battle going on in Kennedy's mind about what she should do, how her choices will affect those she loves, and whether she is ready to face the consequences of the choice she makes, when either choice will have repercussions. The last few minutes of the book kind of wrap up the story rather suddenly, and wasn't quite the ending I expected, yet the plot will keep you pondering for days to come.

I was provided with a free audiobook by the author to listen to. All opinions are my own and I was not asked to review this book positively.