I Am Alfonso Jones - Softcover

Tony Medina

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1620142635 ISBN 13: 9781620142639

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 2017

Synopsis

Named to the 2018 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens list (Young Adult Library Services Association) and the New York Public Library's list of Best Books for Teens.

Alfonso Jones can't wait to play the role of Hamlet in his school's hip-hop rendition of the classic Shakespearean play. He also wants to let his best friend, Danetta, know how he really feels about her. But as he is buying his first suit, an off-duty police officer mistakes a clothes hanger for a gun, and he shoots Alfonso.

When Alfonso wakes up in the afterlife, he's on a ghost train guided by well-known victims of police shootings, who teach him what he needs to know about this subterranean spiritual world. Meanwhile, Alfonso's family and friends struggle with their grief and seek justice for Alfonso in the streets. As they confront their new realities, both Alfonso and those he loves realize the work that lies ahead in the fight for justice.

In the first graphic novel for young readers to focus on police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, as in Hamlet, the dead shall speak--and the living yield even more surprises.

Featuring a foreword by Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy.

About this title

About the Author

Tony Medina is the author of six beloved books for young readers, as well as multiple volumes of poetry for adults. A Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and a professor of creative writing at Howard University, Dr. Medina is a two-time winner of the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People. He lives in the Washington, DC area.

Review

Alfonso Jones loves to play trumpet and is thinking of trying out for his class s hip hop themed Hamlet. On a shopping trip with his crush Danetta, the African American teen, who is looking for his first suit to wear in celebration of his father s release from jail, is shot by a white off-duty cop who incorrectly assumes the suit hanger is a gun. The rest of the graphic novel jumps among Alfonso s past, the aftermath of the shooting, and his experience on a possibly never-ending train ride with other victims of police violence, including Amadou Diallo as his guide. Medina s juggling of the three threads isn t always graceful, but the variation of Robinson and Jennings s panels and design pushes the narrative forward. A teacher s dialogue with Alfonso s classmates is illuminating and realistic. The outrage and grief are palpable, and the black-and-white illustrations enforce the gut-punching pull of each character s journey. And as Alfonso meets the historical figures who preceded him, readers will understand the systemic racism that underlies these violent cases. VERDICT A brutally honest and bleak but necessary selection for all graphic novel collections. --School Library Journal, Starred Review

We are so fortunate that Tony Medina and his generation have taken on their shoulders the classic responsibilities of telling stories that embrace the hearts and souls of not only the individuals but the neighborhoods. A comic book is no longer something to laugh with but something to learn from. I Am Alfonso Jones is incredibly enlightening. --Nikki Giovanni, Author and Activist

In the aftermath of his senseless murder at the hands of a policeman, Alfonso s story powerfully illustrates the value inherent in every human life and the tragedy of loss suffered by all who are impacted. With echoes of Capra s "It s A Wonderful Life," by the book's conclusion, you too will be saying, I Am Alfonso Jones. --LeVar Burton, Actor, Director, Author, and Reading Activist

About this edition

• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1620142635
• ISBN 13: 9781620142639
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: John Jennings