Cover:
Bibliographic
Information:
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Reader’s
Annotation:
When a
teenager and a cop are involved in a racially motivated incident, everyone
tries to figure out the shades of grey in a black and white situation.
Plot
Summary:
Rashad is
in the hospital, where he is also in custody. His family is upset, and
his father, a former cop, feels certain that Rashad must have done something to
bring this upon himself, such as stealing, as the police are suggesting.
Rashad’s older brother Spoony feels this was racially motivated police
brutality. Quinn is conflicted about his feelings, because Paul had been
the one to help him heal when his father died, and Guzzo is Quinn’s friend and
basketball teammate.
Video
footage of the incident recorded on a cell phone is leaked to the media, as are
Rashad and Paul’s names. Quinn goes to a barbeque at Guzzo’s house, where
the situation is tense. In school, everyone is talking about the incident
with Rashad and Paul, and the video. Teachers are refusing to comment or
say Rashad’s name, which leads to students making a concerted effort to say
Rashad’s name, so that people understand this was a real person this happened
to. Tensions spill onto the basketball court during the team’s
practice. The next day, someone has spray painted “Rashad is absent again
today” on the school’s stairs, and this becomes the protest cry of the
students. Quinn watches the video, and can no deny this was a racist
act. The #RashadIsAbsentAgainToday hashtag is flooding social media, and
a protest is planned.
Rashad’s
father recounts a story from when he was a cop, about passing judgement on a
young black boy. Quinn makes the choice to commit to marching in the
protest, and wears a shirt declaring it. Guzzo cuts off his friendship
with Quinn. Rashad gets discharged from the hospital, and looks up the hashtag
on social media. On Friday, one week after the incident, both Rashad and
Quinn go to the protest, during which a list of names of black people who have
been killed are read aloud.
Critical
Evaluation:
This book
was written by two authors, and features two different narrators. The
narrators are both teens, one black and one white, so their narrative voices
have important similarities and differences. Both narrators, Rashad and
Quinn, feel authentic; they talk the way real teens talk, the think and worry
about typical teen issues, like sports and potential romantic relationships.
Most of Rashad's narrative focuses on his experience and the aftermath.
His perspective is one of the victim, as well as one of a minority group.
He accurately portrays the frustration of having done nothing wrong, and
being attacked for the color of his skin. Quinn, on the other hand,
approaches his narrative from the place of privileged as a member of the racial
majority. His narrative focuses on trying to figure out how he should feel
about the complex situation. While I personally would like to have seen
Quinn be a stronger character earlier in the book, the struggle to accept the
racial injustice is what makes Quinn's story authentic, and it is the part that
white readers will relate to. The narrative neatly switches between the
two different perspectives of Rashad and Quinn, neither getting ahead of the
other, neither revealing the other's story. Rashad's narrative was
written by Jason Reynolds, while Quinn's was written by Brendan Kiley.
Each author lends their personal experience to their character, creating
an authentic voice, while combining for one cohesive, powerful story.
There
were a lot of less important characters, at times a bit too many. Some of
the secondary characters, like Jill, Spoony, and Guzzo, are absolutely vital to
the story. However, many other characters are merely mentioned, and not
really developed. It seems that these characters are mentioned to lend to
that authentic feeling of teen dialogue and thought processes, such as the
other members of the basketball team or the girl Rashad is interested in, but
it did seem to clutter the landscape of the story a little. I would like
to have seen a bit more of Jill in the story, since she is most visible female
character.
The
story's action begins within the first few pages, when Rashad encounters Paul
in the store. There is a lot of time tracing the tension in Quinn's
story, such as the barbeque at Guzzo's house, and the interactions with the
basketball team. Some of Quinn's story could have been tightened up a
little, but that slow build helps convey the struggle Quinn faces, accepting
something bad about someone he previously saw as a good person.
This book
is a strong story written by two different authors, presenting two different
perspectives of the same situation. In general, Jason Reynold's writing
is a bit stronger, with the character of Rashad having a more robust narrative
voice. Brendan Kiley presents the story of Quinn in a slower, subtler
way. Despite the differences in authors and narrative characters, both
points of view meld together well, for a powerful story.
Author
Biography:
(From Amazon
Author Page)
The first name bits:
What Jason knows is that there are a lot — A LOT — of people, young, old, and in-between, who hate reading. He knows that many of these book haters are boys. He knows that many of these book-hating boys, don't actually hate books, they hate boredom. If you are reading this, and you happen to be one of these boys, first of all, you're reading this Jason's master plan is already working (muahahahahahaha) and second of all, know that Jason totally feels you. He REALLY does. Because even though he's a writer, he hates reading boring books too.
So here's what he plans to do: NOT WRITE BORING BOOKS.
That's it, and that's all.
Now, for the last name bits:
Reynolds is a graduate of The University of Maryland, College Park. He has been reviewed and profiled in The Washington Post, NPR books, Kirkus, Hornbook, School Library Journal, WNYC, Publisher’s Weekly, Poets & Writers, Gawker, mentioned as a standout in the Wall Street Journal, AM New York, Ebony Magazine, was awarded as a top book of the year by the New York Public Library system, and was the recipient of 2015 Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
Reynolds is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing For Young People MFA Program, and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
What Jason knows is that there are a lot — A LOT — of people, young, old, and in-between, who hate reading. He knows that many of these book haters are boys. He knows that many of these book-hating boys, don't actually hate books, they hate boredom. If you are reading this, and you happen to be one of these boys, first of all, you're reading this Jason's master plan is already working (muahahahahahaha) and second of all, know that Jason totally feels you. He REALLY does. Because even though he's a writer, he hates reading boring books too.
So here's what he plans to do: NOT WRITE BORING BOOKS.
That's it, and that's all.
Now, for the last name bits:
Reynolds is a graduate of The University of Maryland, College Park. He has been reviewed and profiled in The Washington Post, NPR books, Kirkus, Hornbook, School Library Journal, WNYC, Publisher’s Weekly, Poets & Writers, Gawker, mentioned as a standout in the Wall Street Journal, AM New York, Ebony Magazine, was awarded as a top book of the year by the New York Public Library system, and was the recipient of 2015 Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
Reynolds is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing For Young People MFA Program, and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Brendan Kiley
Brendan Kiely's 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 2015, and was a Kirkus
Reviews selection for the Best of 2014. He is also the co-author, with Jason
Reynolds, of the novel All American Boys. Originally from the Boston area, he
now lives with his wife in Greenwich Village.
Find out more at www.brendankiely.com.
Find out more at www.brendankiely.com.
Genre(s):
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Curriculum
Ties:
Read and comprehend literary fiction on grade level,
reading independently and proficiently.
Booktalk
Ideas:
Discuss
how the narrators each told the same story from their point of view, and how
the narrator’s race impacted that point of view.
Reading
Level:
Interest
Age:
Challenge
Issues:
If this
book were challenged I would:
Why
was this book selected:
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