All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

 

All American Boys

Bibliography

Reynolds, Jason & Kiely, Brendan.  2015.  All American Boys.  New York, NY: Caitlyn Dlouhy Books.  ISBN 9781481463331

Plot Summary

This contemporary realistic novel has two voices:  Rashad, who is black, and Quinn who is white.  The boys are on the same basketball team at school but barely know each other.  However, when Rashad drops his bag of chips in the corner store while trying to get his phone out of his bag, a lady trips over him and drops the bottle in his hands.  The police officer in the store assumes Rashad is stealing, assumes he assaulted the lady, pushes the black teen outside the door and to the ground without letting him explain what happens.  He beat Rashad to a pulp, not to death, but had he kept going he might have.  Quinn and his buddies were outside the store when it happened and witnessed it all; he didn't recognize Rashad, but he did recognize the police officer: Paul Galuzzo.  Paul was like a father figure to Quinn after his dad died in Afghanistan in the war, and he was the brother of Quinn's best friend.  While Rashad struggles to heal in the hospital, Quinn struggles to cope with what he saw.  His instinct is to keep quiet and pretend nothing happened so that everything will go back to normal, but he eventually listens to his own voice instead of his friends and family and goes to the march for Rashad.  What made him change his mind was remembering that his father always stood up for what he believed in, and Quinn believed that the racism and brutality that Rashad experienced was unacceptable, so like everyone else at his school he took sides no matter what it cost him.  The book ends with nonviolent protest, a die-in, where the protesters, including Quinn and Rashad lie on the ground and read the names of victims of police brutality in the past year.  The boys make eye contact, and even though Rashad doesn't recognize Quinn or know he was a witness, Rashad is comforted by knowing people of all races support the injustice against him.

Critical Analysis

Two authors voice this novel: Jason Reynolds for Rashad, and Brendan Keily for Quinn.  I thought this was a brilliant way to capture two different teen voices, yet these voices are similar in that they are two boys just trying to do the right thing and get by in life.  Both boys listen to their parents and follow their instructions, but they end up with two dramatically different experiences because of the color of their skin.  The brutality against Rashad changes them both, and it changes the reader, who is forced to ask the question "what would I do".  While we never find out what drove Paul to senselessly beat an innocent boy, we are comforted by those people in the community who stand up for Rashad:  the witness in the store, the nurse, Mrs. Fitzgerald, Jill, Quinn.  They all took a stand against racism.  The book uses a quote from Desmond Tutu that really speaks to the decision that Quinn made: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."  I think this is one of the main points that the authors wanted to make with this book and to get the reader thinking about what his or her actions would be if they were in Quinn's shoes.  It certainly did for me. 

Awards & Review Excerpts

2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book

2016 Walter Dean Myers Award Winner

2016 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner

 

School Library Journal Starred, 9/1/2015 by Ashleigh Williams

"Reynolds and Kiely's collaborative effort deftly explores the aftermath of police brutality, addressing the fear, confusion, and anger that affects entire communities. Diverse perspectives are presented in a manner that feels organic to the narrative, further emphasizing the tension created when privilege and racism cannot be ignored. Timely and powerful, this novel promises to have an impact long after the pages stop turning. VERDICT Great for fostering discussions about current events among teenage audiences. A must-have for all collections."

Horn Book Guide Starred, 4/1/2016

"When a quick stop at the corner store suddenly escalates into police brutality, high school classmates Rashad (who is African American) and Quinn (who is white) are linked and altered by the violence--Rashad as victim and Quinn as witness. This nuanced novel explores issues of racism, power, and justice with a diverse (ethnically and philosophically) cast and two remarkable protagonists."

 

Connections

YALSA selected this book as quick pick for reluctant young adult readers, and I think it would especially appeal to boys.  Readers who are interested in other books on police brutality might enjoy The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, ISBN 9780062498533, or Dear Martin by Nic Stone, ISBN 9781101939529.