The present and past collide in this children's novel about race, fighting for justice, and how the two impact young people.
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes follows twelve-year-old Jerome, who along with his friend Carlos, experience constant bullying at school. In hopes of deterring these neighborhood bullies, Jerome finds and takes a toy gun belonging to Carlos and carries it with him to a nearby park, where he is murdered by a white police officer. Jerome is then greeted by the ghost of Emmett Till and the ghosts of other boys that have been killed by police, who then take him on a journey.
In this timely novel, police brutality and race are explored in a manner that is comprehensible by middle-graders, while also sparking meaningful conversation. Though this novel was specifically written for tweens to explore the social justice system, racism, and moments in history that are often not discussed in schools, parents, caregivers, and teachers are also encouraged to read this novel and engage in conversation with the young people in their lives.
While we as adults might assume that youth are not aware of the world and current events (or we might even assume that these matters are far too complicated for them to know about), our children and teens are still very much aware that there is a problem, and they do have questions and concerns.
Books provide insight into the worlds of others, and with this insight empathy and understanding can potentially bloom. This is a great novel that can bring adults and youth together to hopefully learn, grow, and begin to help society heal.
Ghost Boys
Jewell Parker Rhodes,
New York ; Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 2018.
Formats: Book, ebook, eAudiobook, Audiobook, Audiobook on CD
#OwnVoices at Richland Library is a way for African American staff to provide thoughtful and well written book reviews, book lists and blog posts to promote African American authors and their work about the African American experience. The series invites our customers to learn one more way we are continuing the conversation in our community and speaking our voice. Find more resources on race, equity and inclusion, here.
