What a great book!

This story follows two different boys from the same school who experience things very differently because of their skin colour; one is white and the other black. The book follows the chain of events leading up to and following the one main character, Rashad, who is assumed to be robbing a stor,e and violently beaten by a police officer for it. Rashad is described as a quiet boy, son of a former police officer, who is highly artistic and athletic. A video of the assault goes online, and the school rallies; some to support Rashad and others to support the police officer.

Meanwhile, the story also follows Quinn, who happened to be outside the store when Rashad is dragged out, handcuffed, and thrown to the ground before being beaten by the police officer. Only Quinn is more than a witness, he is a family friend of the police officer. Quinn struggles with how to react to what he has seen, who to support, and what to do as his school and friends become divided on the issue.

The story itself takes place over about a week. By the end of the week the story culminates by following these characters as they march and protest what has been done in their community to black people by overly violent police officers. An extremely well written book about a  sensitive topic, this book reminded me a lot of Monster by Walter Myers, which I have previously reviewed. Both books did an excellent job of capturing the thoughts of a young black male targeted for their race, but while Monster was a screen play All American Boys is written from the perspective of each main character each chapter.

This would be a great read aloud, group study or individual book to have in the classroom. You can use it to talk about perspective, experiences, and connect it very easily to today’s society. It even comes with question prompts written at the back for such uses.

Overall a 4.5/5 from me!