All American Boys

Locations
Call Number: Teen Book / Fiction / Social Issues / Reynolds, Jason, Teen Fiction / Reynolds, Jason
On Shelf At: Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

"A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book."
When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. Told through Rashad and Quinn's alternating viewpoints.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Racism submitted by Justin Shim on June 17, 2016, 12:22pm This book shows a good message. A story of a time during racism, showing that people of differences are all similar. We have more similarities than differences. Good moral message, very modern as well.

Dual authors submitted by Xris on June 7, 2019, 11:04pm I like how the two authors wrote for the two main characters in the book, each handling one side of the story until it came together in the end. Didn't care much for all the technical basketball stuff, but powerful story about racism in our society. Wonder if the authors would write more about this from where they left off...

Good Book submitted by sydcha on June 13, 2020, 12:26pm This book was well written and engaging, and deals with difficult topics in constructive ways.

Read This Book submitted by betsywil on August 4, 2020, 5:53pm This important book is message-driven, but with well-drawn 3-D characters who are complex individuals and not flat personifications of sides of an issue.

This book left me wondering what happens next, like Reynolds' Long Way Down.

Believable, insightful, and timely submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 18, 2021, 9:21pm An excellent YA story of two high school boys’ lives over the course of a week when the Jr ROTC Black teen is falsely accused and beaten by a White cop, and one of his White classmates, who happens to be family friends with the officer, observes the take-down. Both boys had just been living their lives from the singular perspectives of their lens, but because of the particularly powerful choice to narrate the book from alternating first person perspectives, readers experience the powerful transformations that occur in this short window of time. The book is believable, insightful, and timely.

alternating POVs submitted by camelsamba on June 27, 2021, 10:49pm This is an interesting story, told with alternating points of view. I rated down mostly for stylistic reasons. In the early chapters, the writing for one of the characters felt overly simplistic and I almost abandoned the book as a result. Also, there is a lot of casual profanity, which I recognize is authentic for many teens, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. But I also felt like the story ended early. I'm sure that was intentional: we are left to wonder how it will turn out, both legally and in terms of relationships. I find it interesting to ponder how the "realistic" ending might change over time - how would 2021 Paul be viewed differently from 2015 Paul?

Timely and important submitted by leopet97 on July 11, 2021, 3:15am A powerful novel about the reality of police brutality in America told from differing perspectives: one, a black teen boy the victim, and the other a white teen boy the bystander.

Should be required reading starting in late middle school submitted by mickplu on July 21, 2021, 9:04am A very powerful novel that attempts to show both sides of an altercation while exploring police brutality, racism, loyalty, advocacy, and truth.

Timely at Publication, Still Timely Now submitted by JJM.Deucher on July 10, 2023, 7:39am The book, told in two parts by two authors, has a unique writing style with the alternating views of one event. While it definitely has challenging topics (police violence) and has swearing, alcohol, and drugs it is a book that would definitely be on the level of a 7th/8th grader, but can be enjoyed and impactful on an older audience as well. As the book was written in 2015 it's hard to accept that things have if anything gotten much worse since the books inception. It would be interesting to read an "updated release" or a sequel of this book to take in all that has happened in the last 8 years.