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Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:A heartbreaking and powerful story about a black boy killed by a police officer, drawing connections through history, from award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes. Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better. 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.… (more)
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In reality, the gun is a toy, but
This is a story of the sad reality of the American culture of today wherein innocent black boys and men and mowed down when it is assumed they are dangerously feared.
The story is well written and depicts the impact not only on the immediate family, but it is a telling for contemporary society and the way in which our views are molded in an unfair way.
Jerome's family is poor, hard working, and they are a solid family unit, until, Jerome is killed. The grief felt by his sister, parents and grandmother impacts the family as they grapple with an unfair system.
Jerome returns as a restless spirit, able to view the way his death impacts his family, and the boy who gave him the gun. He is accommodated by spirit of Emmett Till, a young boy viciously brutalized because he sadly did not know the rules of the south and Alabama's severe prejudice.
Examining the fear and the reality that police face each day, this unique book takes a very difficult subject and shines a light on how we might be better if only understanding abounds.
Excellent, and worthy of four stars!
The story begins with the death of twelve-year-old African American boy. Jerome shares his experiences with bullying and poverty leading up to his death while playing in a park
Librarians will find this compelling story is effective in tackling tough issues including gun violence, racial bias, and class differences. The easy-to-read, fast paced story would work well in reading groups or as part of class discussions connected with current events.
Look for this title on the “best of intermediate level books” for 2018.
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Hachette Book Group on April 17, 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
After a while, the spirit of Emmett Till, the real life black boy who was lynched in 1955 at fourteen years old, comes to visit Jerome. It’s then that one realizes that not much has changed in sixty years. Black people are still viewed with fear and suspicion.
Ghost Boys is extremely timely, as unarmed black men and boys are being repeatedly killed by police officers with little to no consequences for the officers involved. It’s a heartbreaking story, especially for a middle-grade book. I think parents should read it with their children because it will likely bring up emotions that a child will have trouble working through on their own.
Twelve year old Jerome keeps his head down and stays quiet, away from trouble; he’s a good kid. He lives in Chicago and school can be scary with bullies who taunt him regularly. He hides in the
Jerome has a good home life. He likes his sister and his parents are good, supportive parents. When Jerome walks his sister Kim home and accepts the toy gun from Carlos, Kim doesn’t think it’s a good idea. That afternoon he goes to the park and plays with the gun. He’s just pretending to have a shootout like kids do. Someone calls the cops; they arrive and shoot him dead.
Jerome joins the ghost boys--the other boys who have died unjustly. His ghost mentor is Emmett Till, a famous African-American boy who was killed in the South unjustly. Jerome watches his family as they grieve, and it breaks his heart that they are so sad. He also becomes friends with the daughter of the cop who shot him. You get to meet the cop’s family and what the death does to them as well.
This novel is a healing novel about not making rash judgements and what it takes to heal as people and as a country. It’s not a long novel, but there is a lot to talk about and think about. If you liked Dear Martin and The Hate U Give, you’ll like this as well. If those novels are too much for you, this one is a solid middle school level content--a good intro before getting into the more mature books.
12 year-old Jerome narrates this story in segments that alternate between the day he is shot to death by a policeman while playing in a neighborhood lot ("Alive"), and the days, weeks, and months in the aftermath of his death while he watches his family grieve, and attends the hearing of the policeman who shot him in the back and failed to summon emergency help: "In the opinion of this court, there is not enough evidence to charge Officer Moore with excessive force, manslaughter, or murder" ("Dead"). Jerome meets the ghost of Emmett Till, brutally murdered at age 14 in 1955, and thousands of other "ghost boys": murdered black youths who appear to bear witness and try to help the living build bridges of understanding and forgiveness. The book is one fictional family's horrifying experience and a broader conversation about Black Lives Matter, staggering economic disparity in neighborhoods and schools, and the grim reality that America is just simply a dangerous place for black boys.
The reader knows much of this at the outset of the book. There is just no way to avoid the sickness and horror you are reading, and yet Ms. Parker Rhodes manages to make a powerful, hopeful, healing statement. I am thankful and devastated to have read it.
12-year-old Jerome is playing with a toy gun when a white police officer shoots him in the back, killing him. Up to that moment, he was a more or less happy kid. He had a good, loving family, but was bullied at school. He makes a friend in a new kid at the school, a Latino boy, and in gratitude for his friendship, Carlos loans Jerome his toy pistol.
As a ghost boy, Jerome can witness events, such as the hearing to determine if the officer who shot him will stand trial. He can't interact with anyone alive though... with one interesting exception. The daughter of the police officer, who is also 12 years old, can both see him and talk with him. They are sometimes joined by the ghost of Emmett Till.
Rhodes does a beautiful job of showing the issue, and making it clear that it is white people who need to change, to end the racism; but she does this without demonizing white people, or lumping them all into one stereotype.
Even
...Deep inside me. A recognition. Injustice.
Tragedy. - page 146
This is the sum and sentiment of this novel that swarms around all African American boys that have been killed unjustly by the hands of white men. Only the living can make the world better.
I must read something funny or uplifting after reading Ghost Boys, whew....Jewel Parker Rhodes is a great, and compassionate writer.
It’s evident that the passion of what was transpiring during the time of Parker Rhodes writing this novel is heard loud and clear.
The leader of the ghost boys is Emmitt Till. Jerome and Sarah, the police officer who shot Jerome's daughter and the person who can see him as a ghost, learn about his story.
Set in Chicago, Jerome's family grieves, a preliminary hearing is held to see if there is enough evidence for the officer to go to trial, and his new friend Carlos deals with his guilt over giving Jerome the toy gun. A moving, quick read.
Jerome is this kid who is likeable and struggling, which makes the story all the more heartbreaking that he won't get a chance to grow up.
Parents, I highly recommend reading this story before your grade-school-aged kids do. You'll know whether or not they are ready to process this alongside you. It's not graphic, but it is frank about the reality of living in a redlined neighborhood, being bullied in a poor school system, and the aftermath of being shot.
Rhodes doesn't look for easy answers. While I was frustrated by Jerome's eventual willingness for his killer to find peace, I understood what Rhodes was doing: through Jerome, she explained that the issue isn't one bad cop or one mistake, it's systemic. This is a difficult but important message for young readers, and Rhodes handles it well. A great book for reading and discussing with young people.
Miles Harvey's narration brings all the characters to life and conveys both the anguish and the hope of the story.
Also, when I don't rate a book, it doesn't mean that it's bad. Just that my emotional response to