Ghost Boys

I read this to my 7th graders during the quarantine during an optional Google meet. The kids generally liked it, however it is more catered to 4th-5th graders (not surprised—I took it off the elementary approved reading list). My district has it approved for 4th graders.It’s the only book I have encountered that addresses prejudice and police brutality for that age group.The characters are not complex and the story is rather simple. It’s a very at-the-surface story. You aren’t going to get the characterization of, say, The Outsiders. You aren’t going to get the twists and turns of the Westing Game. You aren’t going to get the harsh realities of a Walter Dean Myers book. But it does the job and kids will like it.I should warn you, however, that there is a page that mentions Emmitt Till’s body after his murder. His mother famously and bravely had a glass casket so the world “could see what they did” to him. It mentions the character doing a Google image search to see a picture of his body. When I learned about Till in 10th grade—it was troubling even for me. I suggest searching it for your child first, and then deciding if they can handle it. I’m sure there are 10-year-olds who can handle it, there are some who will have nightmares. It will leave a huge impact, though.If your child reads this book, I suggest reading it with them so you can have a discussion with them. I didn’t have to do that with my 7th graders (they understand prejudice at their age), but a ten-year-old might not. The value of the book is lost if a child isn’t able to process the message.I also suggest you do some extra research with your child on Emmitt Till. It’s worth it.If you have an older child, I would suggest having them read Mississippi Trial, 1955 (about Emmitt Till) to see a perspective on hate crimes, or Monster by Walter Dean Myers to see a perspective of prejudice and injustice against Black teenage boys rather than this book.

My 12-year-old son is reading this book it his lit class. He came home and asked me to read the book with him. So I checked it out from my local library. This book was amazing and made me cry at points in the story. My son couldn't put the book down. He kept going past the reading pages for each week. This book was so good that he will read more from this author.

Those words. That revelation. That invitation. A posthumous call to action from a fictional 12 year old with a toy gun, who was killed by a white cop, is the heart of this story. This is the story of Jerome, a bullied black boy, who finally gets a fried. The story of a white cop who is trying to live with his actions. The story of his daughter who can commune with the ghost. The story of Emmet Till who is still crying from the grave.This is the story of too many black boys.But this is also the story of us. Those who live. Those who can tell their story. Those who can hear the pain. Those who can make a differenceThis story, those short, is powerful and evocative. I couldn’t put it down and was late to work so that I could read it. I highly recommend it. I plan on reading it with my children, though it is painful, so that we can all be among the living who can make a difference.This but haunts me. And I imagine it will do so for a while. But also inspires me to action

I don't read in this age category very often. I was drawn in by the subject matter and that idea of telling this sort of story to kids. I think the author did a superb job of de-sanitizing the subject in a way that is crucial and necessary, but still age-appropriate and not without hope for the future. I hesitate to give it 5 stars because I can't truly say if I'm reacting to the writing and story versus the subject matter. There's likely not much out there that is quite like this, and that deserves some significant praise. I do think that to some degree, however, it was more subject driven than character driven. Maybe that's how it has to be with something like this. And maybe it's somewhat standard for this age category. My kids are still a bit too young, but I'm glad to know that this is out there for when they are ready to start learning some of these difficult truths.

Jewel Parker Rhodes’s literary expertise has produced a contemporary realistic fiction story that connects with the middle school issues of identity while presenting the universality of these identities across ethnicities, gender, and socioeconomic status. The character development allows for a realistic exploration of the person vs person, person vs self, and persons vs society conflicts. This is a high quality must read.

I love the plot in this book and it helped me with class.

The book was in impeccable condition upon arrival. It arrived on time, and I was able to read it in time to discuss with my book club.

As a teacher, I've loved Jewell Parker Rhodes's work for some time now and this book is no exception. Rhodes has a talent for telling what is not an easy story in a manner that is totally appropriate for this age range and also engaging so that they will WANT to read on. Also for teachers the book includes discussion questions and classroom activities so it's very easy to make this into a novel unit for your class.