Monthly Archives: June 2018

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

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Friday night Rashad Butler stops at Jerry’s market on his way to a party to get some chips. Due to a misunderstanding in which he is not allowed to explain himself, Rashad finds himself handcuffed on the ground outside Jerry’s being beaten by Officer Paul Galluzzo.  Beaten so badly he ends up in the hospital. Quinn, a classmate of Rashad’s, witnessed the beating.  This brings conflicting feelings to Quinn.  Officer Galluzzo has stepped in as a father figure for Quinn ever since his dad was killed by an IED in Afghanistan.  Does Quinn remain loyal to the Galluzzo family or does he speak up against him? This event has both young men questioning the ways of the world since the Civil Rights movement, and what can be done to bring about change.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

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Justyce McAllister looks to the writings and examples of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to help him through the “incident”.  Justyce was arrested for a misunderstanding which involved Justyce stopping his very drunk ex-girlfriend from getting behind the wheel of her car.  The misunderstanding of this scenario: a young black male picking up his biracial drunken ex-girlfriend and putting her in the back seat of her car because she is too intoxicated to drive when a police officer arrives on the scene.  As Justyce is buckling Melo in the back seat, he is pulled from the car, slammed against the trunk, and handcuffed without a chance to explain himself to the officer.  This treatment and the national news of another police shooting of an unarmed young black male, leave Justyce thinking, “It could have been me!” Justyce searches for answers in Dr. King’s words and deeds.  Will this be enough to help Justyce survive his senior year?

Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork

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Sara’s best friend, Linda was taken. Sara Zapata, a journalist, writes of the missing girls of Juarez in her articles published in El Sol.  Young pretty girls disappear all of the time.  But Sara’s articles about the missing girls have touched some nerves, and she has received threatening emails.  Emiliano, Sara’s younger brother, struggles with his place in the world ever since their father left Juarez to make a better life in the United States. Emiliano wants nothing to do with him. But Emiliano has stepped up to find ways to support his mother and Sara. Juarez is a dangerous town, and it’s hard to be good and do the right thing. When Sara makes an important discovery about the desaparecidos (a person who has disappeared and presumed killed by the police), her decision to continue her investigation places her family in serious danger.

March Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

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This graphic novel portrays the beginnings of Congressman John Lewis’s involvement in the civil rights movement.  Congressman Lewis becomes a key figure in organizing and leading peaceful demonstrations from the desegregation of schools to lunch counter sit-ins, March Book One shares his story.  (This is the first book of a trilogy.)

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

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Mysteriously sent to detention on a Monday afternoon, five students walk into Mr. Avery’s lab but only four walk out.  Those four students find themselves suspects in Simon Kelleher’s murder investigation.  Simon ran a gossip app that reveals secrets of Bayview High’s student body. Bronwyn Rojas, Addy Prentiss, Cooper Clay, and Nate Macauley all have secrets, big secrets. But would they kill to keep their secrets from being revealed?