The Battle of Jericho by Sharon Draper

Jericho and his cousin, Josh, are invited to become members of the Warriors of Distinction. The Warriors are an exclusive, secret club, and they are admired for their charity work. Members of the club form special bonds and enjoy privileges and benefits into adulthood. However, the group demands total loyalty and obedience from its members, and Jericho must prove he has these qualities. Hazing is illegal in Ohio, but the kids take a pledge of silence and cannot talk about the initiation activities. Alex becomes uncomfortable and concerned with the activities, especially when the first female pledge ever is targeted and abused by one of the Warriors. Alex and Josh must make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, but will it be too late?

A warning, this book is for a more mature reader than most of my other posts. It's not that anything is overly inappropriate, but the characters are all high school students dealing with a pretty serious topic. Hazing is illegal for good reasons, and this book teaches a valuable lesson about peer pressure. Some of the activities are disgusting, but the author shares them to make a point. Most people are forced to make decisions that test their values and common sense, but hazing takes it to the extreme. Hopefully, this book will help readers think before doing anything stupid and possibly save some lives.