Book Review: All American Boys By Jason Reynolds

In the narrative: Boyz ‘r’ us by Scott Monk, we comprehend the author’s depiction of Mitch. That he is an incorrigible young adolescent with many obligations, upon his shoulders. We perceive that Mitch is confined within a gang, a gang that is pessimistically changing his life, it is also having disdainful influence on his deportments and it is carrying out that influence with him in his life. We are exposed to the theme of change in Mitch’s life when encountering some drastically different: characters, setting, situations and outcomes. The author certifies Mitch’s life one-step at a time, by exploring the depth of Mitch’s predicaments, in other accounts; inquiring into the theme of adolescent etiquettes and by positioning us in the centre of the contingencies.

In the Non-Fiction novel, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds the main characters Rashad and Quinn’s view are changed forever when Rashad is beaten by Quinn’s close family friend, Paul. Rashad is hospitalized for almost an entire week, and had internal bleeding. Rashad while in the hospital watches the news and his own story develop. He realizes, with the help of his brother, that it is better to speak up than to let something you know is wrong be hidden and tucked away like most unnecessary violence, “as she said, speak up. Maybe nothing would happen. But it was worth a try.” (Reynolds 246). Rashad grows up fast in a small amount of time and is shown how the world works and the racism that lives in it. Quinn was at there when Rashad was beaten and it couldn't leave his mind. Quinn, a white highschooler, is an irresponsible teen before the incident, he drank, stole liquor from his mother, and was naive to how bad racism had

Prior to being assigned the reading of the memoir “Always Running”, by Luis Rodriguez, I had never given much thought on juveniles involved in gang life. Rodriguez achieved success as an award-winning poet; sure the streets would no longer haunt him - until his own son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in the vivid memoir, “Always Running.” “Always Running” is the compilation of events Luis experienced during his youth in San Gabriel. The theme of the book is to always strive for the best things in life and to always take a stand for what you believe. Lured by the seemingly invincible gang culture of East L.A., he witnessed countless shootings and beatings, as well as senseless acts of street crime against his friends and family members. As a Latino in a poor neighborhood, Luis struggled through criticism, stereotypes, and mistreatment. With the help of his mentor, Chente, Luis saw a way out through education and the power of word to successfully break free from years of violence and desperation.

In Richard Wright’s novel, Black Boy, Richard is struggling to survive in a racist environment in the South. In his youth, Richard is vaguely aware of the differences between blacks and whites. He scarcely notices if a person is black or white, and views all people equally. As Richard grows older, he becomes more and more aware of how whites treat blacks, the social differences between the races, and how he is expected to act when in the presence of white people. Richard, with a rebellious nature, finds that he is torn between his need to be treated respectfully, with dignity and as an individual with value and his need to conform to the white rules of society for survival and acceptance.

In the story Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena, it starts off with a the new shy kid who is so misunderstood, and happens to feel out of place as he is Mexican but is raised by his white mother. Danny who feels out of place is approached an opportunity to showcase his talent at baseball to his new peers at school, as he does this Uno a half black, half mexican who is the catcher sees Danny’s talent at batting but feels a little imitated. Uno sets out to pitch to Danny and of the act of jealousy throws a ball at Danny’s head, the next pitch taken by Uno, Danny hits out the park over the roof where they are playing, hitting it further than any of the other guys can or have before. When Danny releases the bat it hits Uno’s little brother in the face. Uno see’s his little brother face full of blood and got enraged seeing when he saw him like that. As Danny is apologizing and saying it was an accident Uno hits Danny really hard unexpected, knocking him out.

In this book a boy named Haroon and a boy named Jay get a point of view. Jay is white, kind of a jock, and on the football team. Haroon is brown, smart and on the Reach for the Top team(which is like a team that answers trivia and competes with other schools). It all starts off when the school goes on a lockdown where police are rushing in the school with dogs and bombarding the hallways. Jay and his friends Kevin and Steve go on the rooftop of the school thinking it is just a regular drill, but then they look down and see a bunch of police cars and they see police that look like swat teams. They see down that the police has taken 2 brown kids with handcuffs. When they go back down the principal makes an announcement telling all students to leave the building immediately.

In the poem “America,” by Tony Hoagland, the idea of Americans being consumed with their money is shown using symbolism and metaphors. The speaker in this poem is a teacher whose name is never mentioned. One thing revealed in the poem is that the speaker has a father who is presumably very wealthy and successful. One of the teacher’s students compares America to a maximum security prison. A recurring theme throughout “America” is Hoagland showing examples of America’s greedy society using a teacher, student, and a father’s experiences. Using metaphors of money and symbols of rivers filled with merchandise, Tony Hoagland captures how the teacher begins to think after he hears his student compare America to a maximum security prison.

Some challenges between anti-social behaviors and geographic are evident in the film Boyz n the Hood. It a 90’s films created by John Singleton, about a boy Tre styles who is sent to live with his father Furious styles in South Central Los Angeles after he got into a fight at school. At his father 's house, he is taught morals and values of being a respected man. On the other hand, his friends Ricky and Doughboy who are half-brothers has a different upbringing with no real support system, resulting in forming a gang, involvement with drugs and a tragic ending. This film is based on the African American experience in terms of environmental conditions which results in a great deal of African American males being pushed into the criminal justice system.

make it in a world dominated by whites. The story centers upon one 17-year boy who has

African American boys are doubly displaced among society. Ann Arnett Ferguson says, “they are not seen as childlike but adultified; as black males they are denied the masculine dispensation constituting white males as being “naturally naughty” and are discerned as willfully bad”(page 80). These African American boys are thought of being two things, either a criminal or an endangered species. They are not allowed to be naughty by nature according to society, but rather there naughtiness is a sign of vicious, inherent, insubordinate behavior. African americans are seen as endangered victims, which makes them criminals. Ferguson states, “It is their own maladaptive and inappropriate behavior that causes African americans to self-destruct”(page 82). There are two versions of childhood that are contradictory to each other. A real child would be seen as a “little plants” ready to grow up accordingly which is what white men were like to educators. On the other hand the African American boys were seen as children who are powerful, self centered, and have an agenda of their own. These black boys are seen as adults from such a young age, they don’t have time to be young and grow up because others make it seem like they are already fully grown. This drives them in the path to do bad things and make bad decisions.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and All American Boys by Jason Reynolds are connected, not only by their similar story lines but by the theme and moral lessons each book puts forward. Just Mercy, A Story Of Justice And Redemption, is written from the viewpoint of Mr. Stevenson as he goes through many people's cases trying to give them the justice they deserve. All American Boys is the story of a young teenage boy who is beaten up by a cop because it is believed he is stealing a bag of chips.

These issues of social control all work singularly and in tandem with each other to create a system where the young boys in Oakland mostly become self-fulfilled prophecies of criminals, drop outs, or gang members. Even I, despite my white

Boyz in the Hood is a statement of how urban youth have been passed a legacy of tragic indifference, and the writer has shown that it is an almost inescapable fate for those born into racism and poverty to repeat the patterns they wish to escape. The movie’s characters are clear representations of how the system fails young black youth in the United States, and the difference one mentor can make for these kids. During segregation young black children became targets for white brutality. This movie reflects what the European mentality and what it has done to the African American culture.

The book “The Other America”, written by Michael Harrington, describes poverty in America in the 1950s and 1960s, when America became one of the most affluent and advanced nations in the world. The book was written in 1962, and Harrington states that there were about 50,000,000 (about 25% of the total population) poor in America at that time. The author did extensive research with respect to the family income levels to derive the poverty numbers, and used his own observations and experiences to write this book. This book addresses the reasons for poverty, the nature of poverty, the culture of poverty, the blindness of Middle Class America with respect to poverty, and the responsibility of all Americans in addressing the issue of poverty in America.

It’s the sixties. Racism is running hot through the streets of New York. One neighborhood in particular, where one group of boys makes the choice that will change their lives and everyone’s around them forever. These boys are young, full of talent and smart. These boys choose to take all of what they had and throw it away. What happens to these boys next is something that you would not want to wish on anybody. Here these young talented boys cram into a car and ride to the African-American neighborhood. The boys toss burning bottle of alcohol through a glass window into a store. With burning bottles shattering left and right there is one that doesn’t break. This one bottle was tossed back into these boys car and there is