All American Boy

 

This was a suggestion from a friend, and she, for the record, did not warn me that this book was going to be a kick to my chest. She laughed when I messaged her to tell her that I felt betrayed by her suggestion, you know after I cried multiple times reading it. She said, and I quote "I said it was an amazing book, I didn't say it was an easy read." 

I had this to say on Goodreads: 

"This is the tale of two boys. Rashad, a young black teenager who is accused of stealing chips and becomes a victim of police brutality. Quinn is a white boy who goes to school with Rashed. They don't know each other, but their tales intertwine together as they process this act of violence against Rashad. Rashad grapples with what has happened and what it means to be Black in America, while Quinn also struggles with what this accident means for him, his relationships, and his world view. Beautifully woven together I cried my way through it. If I could give it 10 stars I would."

Goodreads is weird for me. I haven't ever felt really comfortable writing reviews there. I think there is something personal about the choices you make when reading, and with those choices come judgment. In fact, when I started my literacy course and the professor mentioned that we needed a Goodreads account, I felt like I had to make a new one. Why? Well, it seemed wrong to shelve my new collection of children's books amongst the records of the copious amounts of bodice-rippers, complete with covers featuring six-pack abs and flowing hair on both the men and women. It wasn't until a few days later that I really contemplated that choice. Why was I afraid that people would judge me? I'm not exactly the chillest person, in fact, when I'm passionate about something it's very obvious. I even think the members of my cohort know that I have read a bunch of romance novels. But, I felt that urge to protect myself from judgement.. and from the blistering words of people who read a genre I love to merely rip it apart online, hate-read if you will. 

Anyway, I seem to have digressed. All American Boys is a masterpiece. I think that it's a book that has its finger on the pulse of current events. It was written three years ago but it remains even more relevant today than when written. It's one of those texts that I can see how teaching with this text in the near future could be so powerful, but also so fraught. I think, as the kids like to say, to this book hit differently right now. How do you teach something that is so current and so now? How do you teach something that is so politized? I think it is something that I could mull around for months and months and months and still not think of an excellent way to do that. But, I do think that this text would be so amazing to use in a middle school or high school classroom setting. I could see this being a great text for studying this period of time in 20 years in an English course, or more importantly in a Social Studies class. It really touches on the topic of police brutality that made me, a well-read adult re-examine my own thoughts and feelings about the issue. 

This book also gave me the name to an artist that I have oft wondered about. Douglas was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance, and for me has always been that unknown artist that is so iconic to this time period. I love his work and I am glad to have a name to put with the amazing art. I can't wait to dig more into his history and see more of his work.