All American Boys review by Lyle44
All American Boys
by Brendan Kiely, Jason Reynolds
Age Range - 12 and up
Genre - Fiction

LitPick Review

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Age at time of review - 13
Reviewer's Location - Litchfield, California, United States
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All American Boys is a book about two boys - one white, one black and the adventure they both go on. Rashad is the black boy and Quinn is the white and they both attend ROTC and play on the school’s basketball team. The story starts on a Friday night as the boys head out with their separate groups to go partying. Rashad stops to get chips before meeting his boys at the party and one incident later he’s beaten by a white cop and put into the hospital. Quinn sees the whole thing go down and knows the cop, Paul Gulluzo, who beats the boy. Rumors spread throughout the school about how Rashad was beaten and people begin to take sides, with Quinn stuck in the middle. Rashad befriends a nurse and the woman who runs the hospital gift shop while Quinn has to battle between standing up for what he knows is right and what his coach keeps telling him. Soon a protest is organized and Quinn chooses his side. Rashad’s. He wears a shirt that says: “I’m going to march” on the front and on the back it says: “Are you?” When people begin to take notice he refuses to let anyone stop him, he won’t even give his mother a say in the issue. When the day of the march comes, Rashad is finally released and he marches with the protesters, his supporters. At the most important part of the march the boys meet for the first time, though it feels they’ve known each other their whole lives.

Opinion: 

The book All American Boys struck me as inspirational, moving, and just plain enjoyable. The characters were unique and unexpected. The story line was amazing, though sometimes it got hard to follow, and ended in a way I never even thought to see coming. I did, however have a problem with a few small spelling errors, but all in all the book was incredible even though it was nowhere near my usual genre. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story and a bit of inspiration 

Rating:
4
Content Rating:

Content rating - mature content

Explain your content rating: 

Police brutality, drinking, stealing, protests, and deaths of children.

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