e-Audio, 2 hours & 53 minutesRelease Date: April 17, 2018Published by: Little Brown Books for Young Readers / Blackstone Publishing
Read from: June 23-29, 2018Stand-aloneSource: LibraryTW: Police Brutality & Death of a Child
For fans of: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Grief, Cultural Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Tear Jerkers
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.
Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father’s actions.
Once again Jewell Parker Rhodes deftly weaves historical and socio-political layers into a gripping and poignant story about how children and families face the complexities of today’s world, and how one boy grows to understand American blackness in the aftermath of his own death.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I was so excited when I knew Rhodes had a new book coming out. Her work is always on a very relevant issue and still written very well, in a non-preachy way. This new one on police brutality is no different.
Jerome is a twelve year old who is shot by a policeman for holding a toy gun. He comes back as a ghost to watch his family and friends as they mourn his horrible death. Then he meets other ghost boys, boys who have also met a tragic end, like Emmett Till. Till then shows Jerome the events that have built up over time and what may have been the root cause of the problem that exists today.
The best thing about this book has to be the relevance. There are plenty YA books that have come out in the past year about police brutality(The Hate U Give, Dear Martin, Anger is Not a Gift, Tyler Johnson was Here), but not too many MG books. This book shows that age doesn't matter, so providing students with matieral for this age group is essential. It will give parents a jump on giving their kids "the talk" and help ease them into the subject matter.
And of course I loved writing style as well. As someone who doesn't like historical fiction, Rhodes writes in a way in which you can't help but pay attention. However, it flows so perfectly and it doesn't seem at all preachy or teachy. It teaches you something without you even knowing about it.
And last but not least, I really loved the characters. They all had their own stories, but all their stories came together for Jerome. I loved that although they were all different, we still were able to see similarities in them. From his grandmother to his best friend, to his sister, they all had something in common in the end: Grief. It's a sad situation, but it was good to see them all come together after something like that.
As for the plot, this book was written in a different style. It jumped from Jerome being alive, to Jerome being dead, and then to Jerome and the ghost boys and learning Emmett Till's history. Sometimes it was a bit hard to follow because it was an audio book, but it was easy to pick up on where you were if you continued listening on.
Jewell Parker Rhodes and her captivating writing style have changed someone like me who doesn't ever like historical fiction to something that I liked. Anyone that can do that definitely has my respect. I hope the rest of the world reads this and feels like I do: Rhodes must continue to give us books like this.
Overall, I give this
