I love this book!
Ghost Boys
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 5 - 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
The #1 Kids' Indie Next Pick
Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.
Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father's actions.
Once again Jewell Parker Rhodes deftly weaves historical and socio-political layers into a gripping and poignant story about how children and families face the complexities of today's world, and how one boy grows to understand American blackness in the aftermath of his own death.
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780316262262
ISBN-10: 0316262269
Published on 4/2/2019
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 224
Book Reviews (15)
Jerome died after being shot by a cop who did nothing to help him because the was black. He never had friends until Carols came to his school. The cop was Sarah's dad. Sarah became friends with Jerome when he was a ghost. Sarah's dad didn't mean to kill Jerome.
This book is sad. I haven't red it but this symbols BLM ( which means Black Lives Matter , you probably heard about it .) Its really important that we remember to be nice to everyone even if their skin tone is different.
I hate ghosts but this story intrested me
Jerome was just a regular kid. he did good in school, he had a nice family, he did what he should. Except for one day when the new kid, Carlos gave let Jerome borrow a fake gun to paly with. Jerome played with it on his way home from school, then a white police officer pulled up and shot him. Jerome is now a ghost, and he realizes that there are a ton of ghost who were killed by whited just like him. Sadly, this story is very realistic, so the white cop did not go to jail. But there were protests for justice for Jerome. Every African-American needs to read this, so they know how to stay safe in this cold cold world.
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This book is so sad but it teaches a very valuable lesson. It is so hard to read though and I feel so bad for Jerome. He just has to sit there and be around his family and not be able to do anything.
Who else cries every time you read the book? It is super good and super sad 😢. You kinda feel bad for Carlos, because technically Jerome wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t given him the toy gun.
I really liked the book. The main character, Jerome, dies because an officer thought his toy gun was real. He becomes a ghost and meets another ghost, Emmet Till. He finds out there are many other ghosts that died in similar circumstances. The only living person that can see Jerome is a girl named Sarah. Sarah tries to help Jerome and Jerome helps Sarah. I really liked the ending and the message of the book. I did not like how long it took to get to the good part. All in all, This book is good and you should definitely read it.
This book was great! there was a lot of emotion and drama, especially when Jerome's family is crying during the trial. the one thing that I found to be less-than-perfect was the fact that the most action-packed part was when Jerome got shot at the very beginning of the book.
I think that it is a great book and if you like to read about racism and how they fix it then read this book it will paint a picture in your mind and you will not be able to put it down.