A review by thewordsdevourer
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings