GHOST BOYS by Jewell Parker Rhodes

 

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Realistic Fiction, African American, Grief, Families of Police Officers, Prejudice and Racism

214 pages

Description

School Library Journal (January 1, 2018)

Gr 4-8-The Towers Falling author once again tackles a timely yet difficult subject. In Chicago, 12-year-old black youth Jerome is shot and killed by a white police officer who mistakes a toy gun for a real one. As a ghost, Jerome witnesses the aftermath gripping both his family and that of the police officers. Jerome also meets another ghost-that of Emmett Till, a black boy

murdered in 1955. Through Till's story, he learns of the hundreds of other "ghost boys" left to roam and stop history from continually repeating itself. 

The only person who can see Jerome is the daughter of the white police officer, Sarah, and through her eyes, he realizes that his family

isn't the only one affected by the tragedy. Two families are destroyed with one split decision, and Sarah and Jerome together try to heal both of their families, along with Jerome's friend Carlos. It was Carlos' toy gun that Jerome was playing with, leaving Carlos with great guilt and the intense

desire to protect Jerome's little sister, Kim, from bullies and other sorrows. 

Deftly woven and poignantly told, this a story about society, biases both conscious and unconscious, and trying to right the wrongs of the world. VERDICT Rhodes captures the all-too-real pain of racial injustice

and provides an important window for readers who are just beginning to explore the ideas of privilege and implicit bias.

-Michele Shaw, Quail Run -Elementary School, San Ramon, CA 

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My Comments
A powerful story that reads quickly. Jerome's death is written in a way that doesn't gloss over the immense sadness, but keeps a child's perspective which softens the horrific tragedy for young readers. What begins as a story that could be purely about the injustice of a mistaken identity police shooting, develops into a story of deep understanding, rebuilding, and hope. I hope that readers keep an open mind and read this book to the very end.