Review: "All American Boys," by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Love love love. This is (surprisingly!) the first book I've read by Jason Reynolds, THE Jason Reynolds, and it was everything I knew it would be. Not to discount the co-author Brendon Kiely who authored one-half of this book's perspective, but Reynolds is winning award after award, and after hearing him speak about bringing kids backs into literature that is relatable and important to their lives, I was anxious to finally get my hands on one of his books. The book follows two boys from the same high school. They don't really run with the same people, but they sort of know each other. Rashad, an African-American Jr. ROTC member who is anxious to get to a party on a Friday night and hang with his boys and hopefully get somewhere with a girl he likes, and Quinn, a white basketball player who is headed to the same party with his friends. Rashad goes into a convenience store to get a snack and a series of coincidences lead to him being beaten to a pulp by a white police officer and accused of shoplifting and assault. Quinn was outside the convenience store and saw the fury in the policeman's eyes as he kept beating Rashad. The policeman is Quinn's best friend's brother, so he's torn between his loyalty to his friend and what's morally right. Rashad, meanwhile, is in the hospital with a broken nose, broken ribs and internal bleeding, so his fellow students and friends plan a protest. The students want to stand up for what's right, and this book highlights so much of what's going on (STILL!) in today's society. LOVED it. Not really a spoiler - but as a former English teacher, the scene where the kids all take turns reading from the short story that starts Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man because their teacher was told not to teach that book after what happened... that scene was powerful.

Mrs. Denney's Rating: ****

#review #racism #realisticfiction #awardwinner