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Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Mar. 28th, 2018 12:37 amThe Blurb On The Back:
Alive.
Twelve-year-old Jerome doesn't get into trouble. He goes to school. He does his homework. He takes care of his little sister.
Then Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat.
Dead.
As a ghost, watching his family trying to cope with his death, Jerome begins to notice other ghost boys.
Each boy has a story and they all have something in common …
Bit by bit, Jerome begins to understand what really happened - not just to him, but to all of the ghost boys.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Jewell Parker Rhodes's middle grade contemporary novel for children aged 9+ is a timely and moving take on Black Lives Matters that's inspired by the murders of Emmett Till in the 1950s and more recently Tamir Rice and which shows the damage that these deaths leave behind and the institutional and structural racism that makes them happen but it's a uniquely American book and as such, I'm not sure to what extent British readers will relate.
GHOST BOYS will be released in the United Kingdom on 19th April 2018. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Twelve-year-old Jerome doesn't get into trouble. He goes to school. He does his homework. He takes care of his little sister.
Then Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat.
As a ghost, watching his family trying to cope with his death, Jerome begins to notice other ghost boys.
Each boy has a story and they all have something in common …
Bit by bit, Jerome begins to understand what really happened - not just to him, but to all of the ghost boys.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Jewell Parker Rhodes's middle grade contemporary novel for children aged 9+ is a timely and moving take on Black Lives Matters that's inspired by the murders of Emmett Till in the 1950s and more recently Tamir Rice and which shows the damage that these deaths leave behind and the institutional and structural racism that makes them happen but it's a uniquely American book and as such, I'm not sure to what extent British readers will relate.
GHOST BOYS will be released in the United Kingdom on 19th April 2018. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
