All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely

Rashad is an black teen who stops by the market after school one afternoon for a back of chips and a drink. A white woman stumbles over his bag and Rashad offers to help her up, but the snacks land on the bag. The store owner thinks Rashad is trying to steal the snacks, and a white cop drags Rashad outside. Handcuffed and in pain facedown on the sidewalk, the cop thinks Rashad is resisting, and beats him mercilessly. Quinn, a white student in Rashad’s school, witnesses the beating, but is torn about whether to say anything because the white cop is a father figure in Quinn’s life.

Authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely alternate chapters, with Reynolds writing Rashad’s story and Kiely writing Quinn’s. From this, we see the story from the black and white perspectives, as well as the struggles that Quinn and Rashad faces within their own worlds. Rashad’s father, a former cop, blames Rashad outright for getting into trouble with a white cop, his mother doubts the story about her son stealing snacks. Quinn’s family has no doubt about the officer’s story of Rashad resisting arrest and therefore deserving the beating, but Quinn doesn’t feel comfortable correcting them about what he witnessed.

Then a cell phone video of the incident emerges, as well as the social media anthem: Rashad was absent again today. Rashad’s case becomes a rallying cry for protests around the city as he remains hospitalized after the beating.

Students will relate to this all too familiar story after Ferguson and so many other similar incidents in the news. While well intentioned, the narrative can feel a bit preachy in its message. For a similar read touching on the same themes, check out Angie Thomas’s Hate U Give.