All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds

 

Written by: Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds

Published by: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books in 2015

ISBN: 978-1481463331

Plot Summary: Rashad and Quinn are two boys whose lives will intersect in a way that they never saw coming. They both are going to a high school party but what happens before will change their lives forever. Rashad stops at a corner store to buy some snacks before the party but through a series of perceptions of things that happen, he ends up being beaten by the police officer on duty when the shopkeeper thinks he is trying to steal them and the police officer thinks he is attacking a woman who tripped over his duffel bag that holds his ROTC uniform. Rashad ends up in the hospital and there are a series of protests at his school and around the town about police brutality. Quinn knows the police officer who beat Rashad and witnesses the whole incident but doesn't come forward in the beginning. Quinn goes to a BBQ that Paul the police officer is hosting where everything is business as usual. The story ends with a protest that is a die in where everyone lays on the ground where someone says the name of unarmed black men and women while Quinn watches on wondering how he can help get involved. 

Critical Analysis: This book shows how racism can run rampant in certain communities and in certain segments of society. This book shows how changing the system is important work for all of us as we join together in our community to see how we make progress towards a better future for every person. The dual style of the authors is very evident as each wrote their chapters from the point of view from Quinn and Rashad. You can see how each chapter leads up the conclusion of them working from their own vantage points with the issue of Rashad's beating and how it divided the community. The power of protesting is highlighted with peaceful protesting making small incremental changes in how the community is policed and taken care of. 

Reviews: Two boys, one black and one white, act out an all-too-familiar drama when the former is brutally beaten during an arrest and the latter witnesses it.

Rashad wasn't trying to steal that bag of chips, but Officer Paul Galuzzo beats him to a pulp rather than hear him out. Quinn doesn't know that, but he does know that no one should be treated the way he sees family friend and surrogate father Paul whaling on that black kid. Day by day over the next week, each boy tells his story, Rashad in the hospital, where he watches endless replays of the incident, and Quinn at school, where he tries to avoid it. Soon Rashad's a trending hashtag, as his brother and friends organize a protest he's not sure he wants. Meanwhile, Quinn negotiates basketball practice with his best friend—Galuzzo's little brother, who expects loyalty—and Rashad's, who tells him bluntly, "White boy like you can just walk away whenever you want." In a series of set pieces, Rashad contemplates his unwanted role as the latest statistic, and Quinn decides whether he'll walk away or stand. Reynolds and Kiely supply their protagonists with a supporting cast that prods them in all the right ways; Rashad's strict, ex-cop dad provides unexpected complexity.

If the hands and agenda of the authors are evident, their passion elevates the novel beyond a needed call to action to a deeply moving experience. (Fiction. 12-18)

Connections: Students can look at creating their own advocacy group for a cause that they have that affects their community as well as looking at groups that promote harmony and togetherness for all types of people. 

More Books by Jason Reynolds

Long Way Down

Look Both Ways

Sunny

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