Title: Ghost Boys
Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release Date: April 17, 2018
Vivian
This story is about a boy named Jerome who is the narrator, and the story switches between when he is living and after he has been shot and killed by a police officer. The police officer’s daughter can see Jerome as a ghost and they have interesting conversations. As the story goes on he meets Emmett Till, and learns what happened to him and other black boys during the Civil Rights Movement.
I like this story because it taught me some historical facts. I would recommend this book to kids ages eight and up. It is a sad story but very important for people to read.
Emma
Jerome, a young African-American boy killed by police for carrying a toy gun, is one of thousands of ghost boys walking the earth in search of peace. He has been following his family for months, hoping for them to notice him, but only one person can see him: the daughter of his murderer. He befriends her, and soon they are both being visited by the ghost of another murdered boy: Emmet Till. Even though they are from different times and different circumstances, Emmet shows Jerome both the cruelty and the hope in the world.
This is the saddest book that I have ever read. I was on the verge of tears the entire time I was reading it. It is hauntingly beautiful in so many ways, and is a great book to read for everyone, no matter how old you are. The ghost boys’ stories are so horrible, yet so common in the world of today and of yesterday. It is so important for everyone to understand this, because things like this happen in every part of the country, not just in the South.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is willing. It is absolutely amazing, and you must read it. On a scale of 10, I give this book a 10/10.
Jacqueline
This book was really good and I would recommend it. Ghost boys is about an African-American kid that lives in Chicago and gets killed by a police man for no reason. The boy, Jerome, turns into a ghost once he is killed and can see all of the living world and the ghost world but can only talk to one person in the living world, Sarah, the policeman’s daughter. These characters felt so real to me and puts a really good perspective on what a kid in our century thinks about on a day to day basis.
In this book about half of it was based in the courtroom because Jerome’s parents wanted to sue the police officer who killed their child. I liked that the author did this because then I got to hear from the point of view of the parents and the grandma, and the police officer and his wife. I read this book in about two days which shows that it was a really good book and I just wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen and what he was going to figure out.
I would rate the book an 8.5 out of 10 because it makes you want to think about the many injustices in the world such as racism and bullying. It also gives parents a point of view of what is was like to be a kid living in a world where his life was very different than most of ours. I would recommend this to kids who want to learn more about the world in a different perspective and who like realistic fiction.
Eliana
I think that this is a very good book. I highly recommend this book but would keep it with in ages 10 and up as it is extremely sad.
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