Reviews with content warning for Grief - Ghost Boys

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

12 reviews

thesaltiestlibrarian's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lil_booklover's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

It was very eye opening and really challenged my viewpoint by the resolution. I loved seeing how the characters developed. This book also did break my heart but I would read again.

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parasolcrafter's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i will preface this by saying i didnt realize going into this that this book is geared towards younger readers so im not the target audience. that aside, i do think it was a very good read and i think it would be very effective at giving the right age group a book to read that they could a) identify with the characters strongly as theyre the same age, and b) its easy to read (not subject-wise, but the way its written is easy to follow!) and makes the subject matter more digestible (i dont think thats the proper words but i cant think of a better one) in a way that also doesnt trivialize the events of the book.

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A powerful story about the ways that prejudice and police brutality impact entire communities, especially those killed by police and their families. I thought tying the murdered boy in this story to Emmitt Till was a brilliant way to bridge historical timelines where not much at all has changed. This book is heavy and sad but accessible to younger audiences as well as adults.

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audrey5's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Between 4.5/4.75 stars. Heartbreaking, heart wrenching and a deeply moving story of a young black boy who unfortunately like many young black people prior, is shot by a policeman on duty. Jerome is trying to make sense of his ghost form, confused by the presence of other ghost boys too, Emmett Till in particular. My main concern (& my main reason why I gave this 4.5 instead of the full stars) is due to the ending. I wasn’t 100% in agreement with Sarah’s father getting a somewhat redemption arc. That didn’t sit right with me.

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bildungswalton's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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bhavya_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

"Is there someplace I’m supposed to go? I hope it’s heaven. A good place. But I’m still here—which is nowhere, not able to help anybody."

~ Rating- 3.5 stars ~

Content/ Trigger Warnings- Police Brutality, Murder, Grief, Loss of a Child, Nightmares, Bullying, Racism

Note- I have tried to include all the content warnings that I noticed, but there is no guarantee that I haven’t missed something.

-Mention of some these in the review-

"I don’t know. I don’t even know how I go, how I move. I just dissolve. Fade away, then appear again. Can I control that?"

Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes is about twelve-year-old Jerome, who is shot by a police officer that mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.

" Why am I dead? I shouldn’t be dead. I shouldn’t."

Ghost Boys was a dark and powerful story, and is the sad reality of our world. I want to say I liked it, but that feels wrong, as this book is heartbreaking. It is a middle-grade book, and the target audience is children, but I believe that this is a book everyone should read. It was not easy to sit through, but it was a necessary read. Overall, it is an important book that I highly recommend.

"Then, I feel an urge. Deep inside me. A recognition. Injustice. Tragedy"

Review written & uploaded on 16th March 2022.

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DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite

.......................

3.5 stars. Review to come.

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eringaudet's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

a hard-hitting read that makes one angry, despair, and--in my case--tentatively hopeful yet not fully optimistic, considering whats gone down the past couple yrs after the book's been published. ghost boys is unique w/ its inclusion of emmett till, which rly enhances the wider historical perspective of the issue of america's racism, and the thousands of ghost boys are also harrowing. what makes me most emotional, surprisingly, is carlos' altar for jerome, an encapsulation of a one-day friendship that movingly transcends life. my one criticism, however, would be the myriad of short, choppy sentences, which dont flow too well. i think younger readers are fully capable of dealing w/ more-than-5-words sentences. still, this is a tragic, poignant read.

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