Retaliation
by Yasmin Shiraz

Everyday, violence and danger run rampant on the streets of Southeast, DC, and on one seemingly quiet day, the Odom family finds its world destroyed when the baby girl of the family, seventeen-year-old Tashera is brutally attacked by a group of high school girls.

The attack—borne from jealousy—triggers hate, revenge, and the need for justice in the hearts of everyone in the community.

Tashera, a girl with sparkling qualities – she’s laid back, she keeps to herself, she’s intelligent and beautiful, she’s the hair stylist of the high school clique, and most importantly, she stays out of people’s business – finds herself trying to rein in her growing anger at being an innocent bystander as she worries about how this event will affect her family.

Sheila Odom, Tashera’s mother, has to deal with her secretive past, her one mistake that threatens to come back to life and destroy any and everyone involved on the attack of her daughter.

Khalil, Tashera’s brother—a wheelchair bound, former gang member—is willing to become active again in the Deuce Trés crew in order to send a message.

Ahmed, Tashera’s boyfriend—the star basketball player at the high school—must face the realization that his involvement with Tashera might have been the reason behind her attack.

The public school system in the neighborhood must decide how and when does it step in to avoid such violence, and the criminal justice system has to sort out the issues of who’s right, who’s wrong and if revenge is ever justifiable.

In her novel Retaliation, Yasmin Shiraz exposes the corrupting existence of violence in our communities and the retaliatory measures – whether right or wrong – that families go through in order to protect themselves and their children.

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about the author
Yasmin Shiraz is a Youth Program Innovator having created various empowerment programs for non-profit organizations nationally. As a Youth Expert, Shiraz has appeared on radio and television nationwide discussing self-esteem, motivation, and quality of life issues involving teens. She is also the author of five other books: PRIVACY: A Novel (2006, Rolling Hills Press,) EXCLUSIVE: A Novel (2005, Rolling Hills Press,) The Blueprint for My Girls: How To Build A Life of Courage, Determination & Self-Love (2004, Simon & Schuster,) The Blueprint for My Girls in Love: 99 Rules for Dating, Relationships & Intimacy (2005, Simon & Schuster,) and The Blueprint Guide to Success & Motivation: Identify, Focus On & Achieve Your Goals (2006, Herff Jones.)

She is the president of The Signals Agency. Yasmin resides in the Washington, DC area with her family. Her website is: www.yasminshiraz.net.