Reynolds, Jason, and Brendan Kiely. All American Boys.

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

Cy in Chains.

Dudley, David L.  Cy in Chains.  Houghton Mifflin/Clarion  2014  328p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-547-91068-0  hs/adult  Historical fiction     E-BN 

Cy Williams is a 13-year-old boy who finds himself wrongfully imprisoned under very cruel conditions several years after the Civil War has ended.  He is detained at a forced labor camp for African American boys, which is run by a trio of racist tyrants who overwork the boys, beat them, and do even worse things.  Cy tries to escape but is betrayed by the man who was supposed to help him.  He watches as other boys, even younger than he, are also thwarted in their attempts to flee or to rebel in small ways.  Along with others, he contracts whooping cough and almost dies.  He witnesses the murder of one of his friends.  All along, Cy is thinking about what it means to be a man in these terrible conditions, and about whether or not God exists.  It is a very cerebral book, and the characters do a lot of thinking as they endure their terrible experiences at the prison camp.
This one is beautifully written, with very sharply drawn characters and a lot of white-knuckled adventure.  Along the road to growing up, Cy needs to think about the meaning of family, the meaning of love, the meaning of dependence and independence. 

There are some sexual references and breath-taking instances of violence.  This one is recommended for readers in the upper grades of high school and up.

This novel is based loosely on a true story, and it is harrowing in its descriptions of African American life.         

Summary: Cy Williams is a 13-year-old boy who finds himself wrongfully imprisoned under very cruel conditions several years after the Civil War has ended.  This novel is based loosely on a true story, and it is harrowing in its descriptions of African American life. 

Race relations-Fiction, Juvenile prisoners-Fiction          --Carol Kennedy