August 5, 2022
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary and Realistic Fiction (with historical references), (mature) Middle Grade (6th grade +)/Young Adult/Adult, Own Voices, Chicago, Diverse Read, African American
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My Summary:
Jerome is twelve and has been shot by the police because the officer thought he was holding a real gun and felt his life was in danger. The community is outraged. Jerome returns as a ghost and has a front-row seat to the grief of his parents and the trial proceedings. He is invisible to everyone except Sarah, the daughter of the officer. Jerome also meets other Ghost Boys from different historical times who suffered untimely and unjust deaths and continue to “bear witness.”