Reynolds, Jason, and Brendan
Kiely. All
American Boys. Simon & Schuster/ Atheneum 2015 308p ISBN 978-1-4814-6333-1 ms/hs Conflict E-BN
In this
excellent young-adult novel, Rashad, a black teenager, finds himself as the
victim of unjust police brutality. He
ends up in the hospital with broken ribs and other injuries that the policeman,
Paul, inflicted, but most of all, his sense of justice has been damaged. At the same time, Quinn, a classmate who is white, has witnessed the
event up close. Quinn has a long-standing friendship with Paul and his family, and he
is pressured by them to defend Paul’s actions. To complicate matters further, Quinn plays on the same basketball team
as Paul’s brother, and the coach wants the boys to focus only on basketball. The narrative, which switches back and forth from Rashad to Quinn, is
riveting, and poses some very important questions about individual
responsibility, racism, friendship, and loyalty. The language is quite strong and for that reason, middle-school collections may want to think twice about
purchasing it. However, it is an
excellent read for high school, and the kids talk the way many kids really do
talk. For middle-school and high-school collections.
Summary:
A black teenage boy is
brutally beaten by a police officer who misunderstands his actions, and an
entire town is torn apart by opposing reactions to the situation. Meanwhile, a white boy witnesses the beating and must decide how to
respond.
Police
brutality-Fiction, Race relations-Fiction --Carol
Kennedy
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