TITLE: All American Boys
AUTHOR: Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
PUBLISHER: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
PUBLISHED DATE: September 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1481463331
PAGES: 320
Wow.
What a timely book. Plucked straight out of the headlines, All American Boys is about two young men; one black, one white - one who is savagely beaten by a police officer, and the other who sees it and captures the act on his phone. These two young men, Rashard and Quinn must decide how they're going to respond. It's one thing to see police brutality and read about it as a statistic, and it is another to have a starring role in the circus. This book touches on police brutality, protesting, social media activism, respectability politics, and so much more! They actually name individuals who were unarmed when they were killed by police officers and provides actual statistics of police violence in the United Kingdom and compares it to what is happening here in the US. I could totally see an English teacher or a Social Studies teacher using this book as a teaching tool for what's going on right now.
Recommendation: Read It!
Audience: Young Adults (Grade 8 and up), Millenials and Beyond