Reviews
Wow. That’s all I can say at the moment. This story definitely hit a nerve with me, but in the best way. All American Boys is a necessary read, especially today with everything that has come to light with the protests. It shows the point of view of two racially different young men coming to terms with police brutality. This story allows the reader to see that being scared to speak up is okay but don’t let that fear silence you.
A really engaging read about race, police brutality and the all-too-common storyline of a black teen's encounter with a cop. Important. 4.5 stars.
Read this book. It is insanely powerful and I recommend it 100 times over. Look up trigger warnings first! This is the first book I’ve ever annotated and let me say there are a lot of annotations. Most of them are marking sad moments, or shocking moments, or moments that make me angry. But there are others amidst them, marking happy moments through dark times, marking moments so powerful that they speak to the real, current, brutal, terrible world just as much as this one. Read. This. Book. Even if you hate the way it’s written or you hate the characters (which is damn near impossible because god, they are just so real), even if you don’t agree with the message, it’s worth the read. No matter what, it will teach you something, give you a different perspective. Read it.
Powerful. Everyone should read this book.
This book is incredibly powerful. I can't say anything that would do it justice. Read it, you won't regret it.
a story with such a powerful and important message. a book that everyone should read.
3,7/5 stars This story felt very honest. It’s breathtaking and it really made me think about a lot of things in life. It’s a very powerful story and it has such an important message. I liked how we both got a perspective of the victim and a witness, and they don’t even really get in touch with each other in this book but that didn’t really bother me. I felt bad for Rashad, being accused of doing nothing, just because of the way he looks and for his race. It’s just something that can’t be denied. It’s something that happens in our lives. People get judged by their looks and races, and stereotypes still have a too powerful part of our society. And most of the time, people ignore it, they feel bad for a little time but that’s it. Before I read this book I never really thought deeply about it, but oh man, after reading this book I just won’t be able to put this out of my mind. “Had our hearts really become so numb that we needed dead bodies in order to feel the beat of compassion in our chests? Who am I if I need to be shocked back into my best self?” Quinn was such an inspiring character, I really adored how he ACTUALLY DID something about it. He had to turn his back towards his best friends older brother Paul, who beat Rashad, even though Paul has always been there for him and he always felt like an older brother for him too. It must have been so hard for him to do that, but he stood strong and did something about the situation. At the beginning it frustrated me that he just stood by Paul’s side without even knowing the truth, but how he develops throughout the story really amazed me. What I really liked, is that they went in depth about Rashad’s drawings and what he was feeling and thinking when he was drawing it. I just really loved that we got to see how he was expressing his strong feelings and how he put it out on paper. I hated Rashad’s dad throughout the book but I liked that towards the ending he kind of felt a little less like a caring less dad and he shows he actually does care about what happened to his son. There were a lot of scenes involving basketball, which in some way I kind of liked, but in other ways, I did find a little less interesting because I don’t really know that much of it. The ending felt very powerful and I was satisfied with it. This book really did something for me, it definitely changed me in some kind of way. And when a book can do that, you know it’s a great one. “Nobody says the words anymore, but somehow the violence still remains.” Link to the review on my blog: https://whisperingstoriesdotblog.word...
It's hard to review this book. I found it powerful at times. Yet, at other times, the narrative fell into typical patterns of several decent books written recently. When the subject matter has this much importance, it can be hard to criticize the book in any way. That being said, Reynolds and his coauthor created a compelling narrative that presented real character growth and lead to one of the most powerful endings I have ever read. I nearly teared up at the end.
Honestly this is a strong, powerful book. The message portrayed is very powerful. People of color battle with equal rights every day. This book is a must read. It definitely makes you put down the book every now and again just to stop and think about what’s being said or done.
