Ghost Boys - Softcover

Jewell Parker Rhodes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1510104399 ISBN 13: 9781510104396

Publisher: Orion Children's Books, 2018

Synopsis

A New York Times Bestseller This was one of my most anticipated 2018 books and I was not disappointed. A must read." -Angie Thomas, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give 'tender, timely ... surprising and hopeful' - Observer A heartbreaking and powerful story about a black boy killed by a white police officer, drawing connections with real-life history, from award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes. ALIVE Twelve-year-old Jerome doesn't get into trouble. He goes to school. He does his homework. He takes care of his little sister. Then Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. DEAD As a ghost, watching his family trying to cope with his death, Jerome begins to notice other ghost boys. Each boy has a story and they all have something in common... Bit by bit, Jerome begins to understand what really happened - not just to him, but to all of the ghost boys. A poignant and gripping story about how children and families face the complexities of race in today's world.

About this title

About the Author

Jewell Parker Rhodes grew up in Pennsylvania. She is an author of adult and children's books, a Coretta Scott King Honour award-winner, and a professor of creative writing at Arizona State University. She currently lives in San Jose.

From School Library Journal

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

Edition details

• Publisher: Orion Children's Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1510104399
• ISBN 13: 9781510104396
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 214