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It's art imitating life, really. All American Boys is a young adult novel that looks at a specific instance of police brutality from the perspectives of two high school classmates: Rashad, who is savagely beaten by a local policeman who (wrongly) suspects him of shoplifting and assaulting a white woman, and Quinn, who sees the beating and initially pretends he didn't. It's a fictional reflection of real-life police encounters with young black men that ended badly.

Co-authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely had written young-adult books separately for publisher Simon and Schuster when they were asked to go on a group tour of male authors. The two, both New Yorkers, ended up sharing a room, and while they were on the road, George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Reynolds, who is African American, remembers what it was like being on tour at that time. "I'm angry and I'm frustrated and I'm sort of wrought with emotion - and I'm traveling and living with a stranger," he says. A white stranger at that.

They got to talking about it all, and it turned out Kiely was experiencing similar feelings. "He was as frustrated as angry and as confused as I was," says Reynolds. They talked themselves into a genuine friendship, where race was often a topic of conversation.

The conversation became even more urgent the following August, when Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson. "That was the final straw," Reynolds remembers. Brendan came to me and said 'Look man, I can't take it anymore. We have to do something. Will you write this book with me? Can we do this thing together?'"

The result is a story about racial profiling and police brutality that makes Rashad a rallying cry against police brutality.

In the book, after Rashad's beating - which was captured on cell phones by onlookers and spread virally through social media - he recuperates in the hospital. He's appalled to find himself the center of attention, in a spotlight he doesn't want. Supporters in his high school and around town take up the cause with a phrase that is graffiti'ed on sidewalks and the town's walls: Rashad Is Absent Again Today.

Meanwhile, Quinn wrestles with what he's seen. It's complicated by the fact that the cop who beat Rashad is a close family friend - his best friend's big brother. Quinn can't believe the man he knows would beat anyone if the person on the receiving end didn't deserve it. He's always seen police as protectors. He wants the whole thing to just go away.

Brendan Kiely, the co-author of All American Boys, wanted Quinn to not have that option. Quinn, he says "has to acknowledge [the beating] and see it. That's a metaphor for him and, I think, for many of us in America, especially those of us who are white and who have escaped this kind of brutality." Kiely says sympathetic white people "have to recognize that we do have a role to play."

Ultimately Quinn has to make a decision, one that may cost him something in the near future: friends, a missed opportunity for a scholarship, etc. How he resolves that is at the heart of All American Boys.

Kiely says as he and Reynolds cross the country on tour, the book has really resonated in inner-cities, especially the city they both live in: "In New York City, a place where stop and frisk has been a policy in place for many years, there were kids who'd come to school every day, or leave school every day, and experience this kind of racial profiling."

In another city, he said, "We got a question from a kid who said 'What can a young white person do who knows this is wrong, but just doesn't feel I have a way into this?'"

Jason Reynolds believes that even as many adults shy away from talking about race, their kids are anxious to have that conversation. "No matter what the adults say, nine times out of ten, the kids are ready to talk."

All American Boys may help them get there.
Note: this excerpt contains strong language.

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'All American Boys': A Young Adult Book About A Police Beating And A Hard Choice

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subscribe to Code Switch podcast subscribe to Code Switch podcast It's art imitating life, really. All American Boys is a young adult novel that looks at a specific instance of police brutality from the perspectives of two high school classmates: Rashad, who is savagely beaten by a local policeman who (wrongly) suspects him of shoplifting and assaulting a white woman, and Quinn, who sees the beating and initially pretends he didn't.

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Read 7,141 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Rashad is absent again today. That's the sidewalk graffiti that started it all... Well, ...

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All American Boys Unofficial Trailer [English Project]

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The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home - said he had to write a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he actually did Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened, his mom can't even look him in the face. Any home besides his would be a better place to live.

But Miguel didn't bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and and getting to the border where he could start over. Forget his mom. Forget his brother. Forget himself.

Life usually doesn't work out how you think it will, though. And most of the time, running away is the quickest path right back to what you're running from.

From the streets of Stockton to the beaches of Venice, all the way down to the Mexican border, We Were Here follows a journey of self-discovery by a boy who is trying to forgive himself in an unforgiving world.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults

ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

2011/2012 Texas TAYSHAS Reading List

Reviews

". . . fast, funny, smart, and heartbreaking." - Booklist

"A story of friendship that will appeal to teens and will engage the most reluctant readers." - Kirkus

"Miguel's raw yet reflective journal entries give de la Peña's coming-of-age story an immersive authenticity and forceful voice. The suspense surrounding the boys' survival and the mystery of Miguel's crime result in a furiously paced and gripping novel." - Publishers Weekly

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The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home - said he had to write a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks.

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The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home...

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This is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl who is filled with self-loathing and must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusi...

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When teacher Alicia D. Williams asked kindergartners to pick out a crayon that reflected their skin tone, she says something heartbreaking happened: Out of a spectrum of multicultural options, "Never, never, never do our kids of color choose a skin tone that's close to theirs. They go as light as possible."

Observations like these inspired Williams to write her first novel - Genesis Begins Again - about a 13-year-old African-American girl who dreams of having smooth hair, and skin as light as her mother and grandmother. Genesis keeps a running list of things about herself that she hates - her skin is #95.

Genesis encounters prejudice and colorism from classmates, strangers, and members of her own family. Williams says these stories come from a very personal place - from watching her students, and from her own experience.

"I've seen it growing up, not just within my family, I've seen it within our community. ..." Williams says. "We still talk about light skin vs. dark skin. ... This whole thing starts all over again in each generation."

Interview Highlights
On wishing she had been more like her character, Genesis, as a teenager
I wish I was as feisty as her. I wish I could have been a little bit sassy, but I was this quiet, nerdy, book reader. ... [I was] trying to figure out: How do I be Alicia? I think so many other middle schoolers are trying to figure that out - so they pick up words, they pick up phrases, they pick up the clothing styles, hairstyles, trying to figure out: How do I fit in in middle school?
On what it's like to be the only black student
I know how it was for me in undergrad - walking into a room, being the only black in 250 students around me - but as a 13-year-old, or 12-year-old, how does that feel, and how do you keep your identity? Do you find someone to connect with you? ... How do you make friends?
On pointing out racism within one's own community, or within one's own family
I'm terrified. I'm so terrified. ... You say: You don't talk about this in front of white folks. You don't let them know what's going on in your house. I'm nervous about giving people words or ammunition. I'm so nervous because, as a writer, you start thinking: Is this going to be a good thing? Will I do more damage, or will I help?
On what motivated her to tell this story
The whole thing was: How can I help heal some children? ... It's not just colorism that I want to heal them from, but to let them know they're good enough. ...

Across each ethnicity there's always something [other kids will tease you about.] ... I saw children definitely affected by colorism. I saw friends. I still felt the residue for myself. ... Whether people receive it [this way] or not, I know my intention and the impact that I want is to heal some people. It may not be for everyone, but have to heal somebody. ...

This is something I needed to hear. ... I need to hear ... It's not going to happen overnight, that I'm going to love myself, but, you know, it's going to be OK.
Justine Kenin and Emily Kopp produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Beth Novey adapted it for the Web.

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A Teen Faces Colorism At School And At Home In 'Genesis Begins Again'

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When teacher Alicia D. Williams asked kindergartners to pick out a crayon that reflected their skin tone, she says something heartbreaking happened: Out of a spectrum of multicultural options, "Never, never, never do our kids of color choose a skin tone that's close to theirs. They go as light as possible."

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Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

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Two Minute-Ish Book Review | I'm Not Dying With You Tonight

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Holy shit was this ever good.

Slater does a marvelous job of giving us insight into both Sasha -- the victim -- and Richard's lives, backgrounds, and stories. Why would a black boy set the skirt Sasha, who is gender nonconforming, wore, on fire? Is what he said about being homophobic true? Or was it fear which took over his 16-year-old mind and told him to say what the police would want him to say?

Even handed and compassionate at every turn, this is a powerful read and one that should spark a lo...more

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Holy shit was this ever good. Slater does a marvelous job of giving us insight into both Sasha -- the victim -- and Richard's lives, backgrounds, and stories. Why would a black boy set the skirt Sasha, who is gender nonconforming, wore, on fire? Is what he said about being homophobic true?

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The Fire on the 57 Bus in Oakland (Published 2015)

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One teenager flicked a lighter, and two families’ lives were changed forever.

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Read 11.3k reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Raw, captivating, and undeniably real, Nic Stone joins industry giants Jason Reynolds an...

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This would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible. The characters were well writThis would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible. The characters were well written and developed and there'd would be some GREAT discussions. This is one of the best books I've read this year. Juli Hoffman...more

*Bonus, this book is a "clean read," and yet the writing feels incredibly realistic. It deals with a lot of complicated issues in a positive, character-growing way.(less)

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This would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible. The characters were well writThis would be an EXCELLENT book for middle school and high school book clubs! I'd give it ten stars if it were possible.

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‘Piecing Me Together’ Novelist Says She Writes To Help Kids Feel Seen

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Renée Watson won the Coretta Scott King Award for her novel about a black student at a mostly white private school.

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I'm Not Dying With You Tonight-best YA book by Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal

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From author duo Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones comes a page-turning and timely story about two teenage girls-one black, one white-who only have each other to get through the violent race riots enveloping their city over the course of one night

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