about the book
All I wanted was a bag of chips from Jerry’s Corner Mart—a snack after ROTC—and some gum to kill the chip breath. It was Friday and I was heading to a party at Jill’s for a little up-close time with Tiffany. It was no big deal. Stopped there all the time.
I was at the back of the store, checking out the different varieties. Thought of calling my pal for a ride and set my duffle bag down to unzip it. My phone was in my uniform pocket. The lady behind me at the cooler stepped back, tripped over me, and landed on the floor. As I helped her up, the clerk yelled something about shop lifting and a cop grabbed me. Before I knew what was happening I was handcuffed, lying on the pavement outside with my face smashed into the concrete. The cop’s knee crushed my back as he slammed his fist into my head again and again. All I wanted was a bag of chips!
This Coretta Scott King Honor winning novel is about two boys, one black and one white, and written by two authors, one black and one white. They grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves friends, school, community, and ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension.
Jason Reynolds writes in the voice of Rashad Butler, the sixteen-year-old black boy who nearly dies from the beating he received from Paul Galluzzo, the policeman. This cop interprets Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing as belligerence, his slowness to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, and his flinches at every punch as a refusal to stay still as ordered.
Brendan Keily writes in the voice of Quinn Collins, the white kid who observes the whole thing. Paul, a friend and a mentor, has always been there for Quinn, ever since his own father died. Now Quinn is faced with knowledge that goes against everything he has believed.
Two boys. Two stories. One truth?
about the author
Brooklyn, New York writer Jason Reynolds has one goal: Don’t write boring books.
He gets kids who don’t like to read because he was one of them. Nevertheless, every year his aunt would give him books for Christmas, which he’d end up chucking on a bookshelf where they would remain unread. He discovered the written word through poetry—first in hip hop music and later in books. When he was older, he dusted off many of the books his aunt had given him and finally read them—and discovered he actually liked reading. He spent most of his time in college writing and reciting poetry around the campus.
Jason’s first book was a book of poetry he wrote with his college roommate. Taking a hiatus from writing, he became a case worker and worked in retail stores. Jason didn’t consider writing novels until a friend challenged him to tell the stories of young black men in neighborhoods like the one he grew up in. Since then he has written five young-adult books.
Jason describes himself as creative, honest, and curious. Also, he has a love-hate relationship with his dreadlocks. They’re cool-looking, but drive him crazy. He also loves peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. He believes you can tell a lot about a person by whether or not they like PB&Js.
As for writing, he lives by the motto, “Process before progress,” which means that it’s necessary to put in the work before you can enjoy the results.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Simon and Schuster
Author biography: Pippin Properties
Author interview: Voya Magazine
Book trailer: All American Boys
Also by Jason Reynolds:
The Boy in the Black Suit. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2015.
When I Was the Greatest. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2014.
about the author
Growing up in Boston, Massachusetts, Brendan Kiely was not into reading. Then the summer before high school, he was given a hefty reading list. Nervous about the changes ahead, he decided he better tackle the work. The first books he picked up were the Lord of the Rings trilogy. “Holy Crap!” He was hooked and hooked hard! The books changed Brendan’s life plans!
Brendan ardently pursued his career, earning an MFA in creative writing from The City College of New York. Besides penning new novels, he also teaches high school. Talking and listening to the multi-ethnic teens as they discuss books inspires him to write even more diligently.
Brendon met Jason Reynolds in 2014 when their publisher sent the two first-time authors on a book tour together. That summer, police brutality dominated the news and the two often debated the issues. As their friendship grew, they both felt the need to respond to what they were witnessing. Keeping what they were doing a secret from their publishers, friends, and family, the two wrote All American Boys from two different viewpoints, one white and one black. When they finished the novel, they presented it to their publisher and it sold in three days!
What’s more, the book was fast tracked through the editing, printing, and distribution stages!
Besides the technical research that went into the book, Brendan also wants us to know a lot of emotional research was necessary. He had to be in the mind and heart of his character because, though he did have plot points, it was the character that drove the story. Since young adults are so hungry to use art, entertainment, and books as windows into new ideas, Brendan hopes his writing reflects their personal experiences too.
Brendan currently lives in Greenwich Village with his wife. He keeps a really—no seriously—really messy desk. He thinks it is “cozy.” Often times, he has to resort to using the kitchen table for months at a time. Every once in a while, he’ll get better organized, but it doesn’t last long. And that is a good thing. There are times when he’ll stumble on a scrap of paper with just a phrase or two and he’ll think, Oh my god, this is perfect for the story!
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Slice Magazine
Author interview: The Writer
Also by Brendan Kiely
The Last True Love Story. Margaret K. McELderry Books. September 2016.
The Gospel of Winter. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2014.
read more!
Away Running by David Wright
When Matt, a white boy from Montreal, and Freeman, a black boy from San Antonio, join an American football team in Paris, they become close with their group of diverse teammates. When the brewing racial tension in France turns into explosive riots, several of their Muslim teammates end up in trouble with the police. Will Matt and Free get involved even if it means risking arrest, violence, and jail time?
The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds
Matt’s mother just died and his father isn’t coping well, so Matt is basically fending for himself. Still grieving, he gets a job at a funeral home where he comes face to face with other mourners every shift. Then he meets Lovey, a girl who has faced much more hardship than he has but never cries. Can Matt begin to figure out how he feels with the help of Lovey and the mourners he meets at work?
The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely
When Teddy’s grandfather—“Gpa” for short—begins to deteriorate quickly due to Alzheimer’s, he makes one last important request of artsy, seventeen year-old Teddy and his aspiring-musician friend Corrina. Gpa wants to road-trip from Los Angeles to New York to visit the hill where he first kissed his wife, before he forgets her entirely. Happy to help the man who raised him and viewing this as their ticket out of town, the teens steal a car, grab Gpa, and hit the road!