Title: All American Boys
Author: Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
ISBN: 9781481463331
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Copyright Date: 2015
Genre: Realistic Fiction
About the Authors:
Jason Reynolds is crazy. About stories. He was awarded the 2015 Caretta Scott King/ John Steptoe Award for New Talent for his debut novel, When I Was the Greatest, and that’s also crazy. He’s also the author of The Boy in the Black Suit, and in case you haven’t heard, it’s also… well, you get the point. Most importantly, Jason isn’t nearly as crazy about stories as he is about you. And that’s all that really matters.
Brendan Kiely received an MFA from the City College of New York. His debut novel, The Gospel of Winter, has been published in eight languages, was selected as one of the American Library Association’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults titles of 2015, and was a Kirkus Reviews selection for the Best Teen Books of 2014. Originally from the Boston area, he now lives with his wife in Greenwich Village, New York.
Reynolds, J., & Kiely, B. (2015). All American Boys. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Curriculum Ties:
· Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
· Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
· Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
Plot Summary:
Rashad is an African American high school student, who likes to draw, hang out with friends, and is in the JROTC. When the weekend comes, his biggest plans are to go to a party, but his plans change when a cop thinks he is shoplifting and beats him senseless, putting him in the hospital. Quinn is a white kid from the same school, who is on the way to meet up with friends and sees the whole thing, and knows the cop as a father figure. As Rashad becomes a symbol for police brutality, and racial tensions rise, Quinn finds that many of the assumptions that he had need to change. Things become personal for both boys as they have friendships challenged, and learn things about friends and family that they never would have guessed. In the end, both make decisions about who they want to be, and what they need to do to do the right thing.
Critical Evaluation:
The story is written from two first person perspectives, one from Rashad, and one from Quinn. The plot is revealed gradually through their eyes, and the tension and mystery as the story is unraveled is very real. Both of the main characters are fleshed out, and have very real and human reactions to the problems surrounding them. Rashad has constant interactions with his family, particularly with his brother and father, which give them depth, while Quinn struggles with his relationships with his friends. The story has is very fast paced, and the social message of racial prejudice is the major theme of the story. The story begins and ends on very emotional points, namely the beating of Rashad, and Quinn’s struggles to understand how a friend could do such a thing. The conclusion of the story is open ended, which allows the reader to better translate the story into their own lives.
Reader’s Annotation
Rashad is a normal high school student, until he is beaten unconscious by a police officer in a store. This sets off a story of racial prejudice, growth, and action as the characters react and try to solve the problems presented in the story.
Booktalking Ideas:
- · Discuss how people can make their opinions known, and look for ways this is shown in the book.
- · Look for how the viewpoint of the protagonists change throughout the book.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 12-18
Challenge Issues:
- · Drug and Alcohol Use: Teens drink and are referenced using drugs in this story.
- · Language: There is regular cursing and swearing in this book.
- · Political Viewpoint: The subject of the book, police brutality, is a politically charged subject.
Defense Collection:
- 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) (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2015)
- Grades 9-12 Two teenage boys , one black (Rashad) and one white (Quinn), are inextricably linked when Quinn witnesses Rashad being savagely beaten with little or no provocation by a policeman who has served as Quinn’s de facto big brother since his father was killed in Afghanistan—and whose younger brother is one of Quinn’s best friends. Can Quinn simply walk away from this apparent atrocity and pretend he hasn’t seen what he has seen? And what of Rashad? Hospitalized with internal bleeding, all he wants is to be left alone so he can focus on his art. The challenge for both boys becomes more intense when the case becomes a cause célèbre dividing first their school and then the entire community. The basketball team becomes a microcosm of split loyalties and angry disputes that come to a head when a protest march powerfully demonstrates the importance of action in the face of injustice. With Reynolds writing Rashad’s first-person narrative and Kiely writing Quinn’s, this hard-edged, ripped-from-the-headlines book is more than a problem novel; it’s a carefully plotted, psychologically acute, character-driven work of fiction that dramatizes an all -too-frequent occurrence. Police brutality and race relations in America are issues that demand debate and discussion, which this superb book powerfully enables. -- Cart, Michael (Reviewed 09-15-2015) (Booklist, vol 112, number 2, p62)
- Awards:
- o School Library Journal Best Books: 2015
- o Westchester Fiction Award (California )
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o The Library Director and designated staff actively evaluate and select materials. The Springville Public Library Board, acting under the authority given to it by Title 4, Chapter 6 of the Springville Municipal Code and Title 09 of the Utah State Code, has the ultimate responsibility for the determination of the policies for selection and acquisition of materials.
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Purpose in the Collection:
The book All American Boys is a well-reviewed and awarded book of realistic teen fiction. It contains viewpoints from both African American and European American young adults, and encourages teens to express themselves, take an active part in politics, and critically think about issues and their responsibilities.
