Ghost Boys
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4.2 • 14 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Settle in for an intense and captivating ghost story that combines the poignancy of The Lovely Bones with the vital social commentary of The Hate U Give. After a 12-year-old Black boy named Jerome is shot and killed by a white police officer, his story doesn’t end. Instead, from the afterlife, he witnesses how his murder has devastated his community. But thankfully, he doesn’t have to go through the experience alone, as he soon meets the ghost of another boy…named Emmett Till. Jewell Parker Rhodes skillfully navigates massively important issues like police brutality and systemic racism in a story that feels, first and foremost, like it’s about friendship and hope. Young Emmett Till—the real-life teenager lynched by a Mississippi mob in 1955—plays a moving role, as he and Jerome realize just how little things have changed over the past 65 years. Ghost Boys will stir you to your core.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in an impoverished Chicago neighborhood, this somber story blends history with current events. Jerome Rogers, a black 12-year-old, is playing outside with a toy gun when he is shot and killed by a white policeman who views him as a threat. Now Jerome wanders the earth with other "ghost boys" whose deaths are all connected to bigotry. Ironically, the only human who can see Jerome is Sarah, the young daughter of the officer who took his life. Jerome meets the ghost of Emmett Till and learns the horrific details of his murder. Emmett, like the other ghost boys, cannot rest until the world is swept clean of discriminatory violence; maybe Jerome can help if he can make Sarah understand that her father's act was a result of deeply ingrained racism. Rhodes writes in short, poetic chapters that offer graphic depictions of avoidable tragedies; her hope for a better world packs a powerful punch, delivering a call to action to speak out against prejudice and erase harmful misconceptions. Ages 10 up.)
