Inquiry Blog, ​All American Boys

John Anderlik 7 April 2019

Book
Reynolds, J. & Kiely, B.. ​All American Boys​. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2015.

Genre
Young Adolescent Realistic Fiction

Audience
Due to the fact that both main characters in ​All American Boys​ are in high school, I think it’d be
hard for younger middle school students to relate to it. I’d recommend that the book be read by
students ages 13 and up.

Read Alouds
“I just wanted him to stop beating me. I just wanted to live. Each blow earthquaked my
insides, crushing parts of me I had never seen, parts of me I never knew were there… the
man leaning over me, hurting me, telling me to stop fighting, even though I wasn’t fighting
(​pg. 23​).”
→ This quote immediately follows Rashad’s incident at Jerry’s. The thoughts running
through Rashad’s head about wanting to simply survive after being beaten for doing nothing
wrong correlates with the theme of ​racism, stereotyping, and police brutality​. I think that this
quote specifically would be powerful to read to a class to show what it is like for the victim of a
police brutality/stereotyping case. The summary on the back of ​All American Boys​ reads “...that
racism and prejudice didn’t die after the civil rights movement.” In reading both that, and the
quote from page 23, it brought up a hypothetical/situational discussion question. In the book,
would the police’s actions have changed if Rashad were white?
“‘I’m so sick of them treating us like we animals. Like we America’s disobedient dogs…
They get to do whatever they want to us, to him - to you son - and we’re supposed to just
calm down (​pg. 52​)?’”
→ This quote is during a conversation exchanged from Spoony, Ma, and David. Spoony
is expressing his feelings on black lives and how they’re underrepresented. Going along with the
theme of ​racism, stereotyping, and police brutality​, Spoony recognizes that black folks are
second hand in comparison to others; this is something he (and myself) feels like needs to be
changed. I think that reading this excerpt to a class would allow students to experience what it is
like to feel underrepresented and stereotyped for trying to complete daily tasks.
Summary
All American Boys​ tells the story of Rashad Butler (black) and Quinn Collins (white); the two go
to the same school, but rarely interact with each other… until the accident. On the way to a party,
Rashad was accused of stealing from the local convenience store. Through the novel, we see
Rashad recover from the injuries following the incident, and how unexpected relationships form
to support him. Rashad and Quinn’s story will spark tears of joy, all while leaving the reader to
unfold shocking moments.

Themes
- Racism, Stereotyping, & Police Brutality: ​All American Boys​ is centered around the
ideas of racism, stereotyping, and police brutality. Rashad’s violent beating and arrest is
all due to a misunderstanding and misreading of the situation. The novel depicts different
scenarios in which racism and stereotyping manifest themselves in everyday life; Rashad
was wearing baggy pants at Jerry’s. Due to society creating wrong assumptions, Rashad’s
pants and hairstyle allowed the store associate and police officer to stereotype Rashad
with poor, dangerous behavior.
- Paternal Relationships:​ Both Rashad and Quinn struggle in forming positive paternal
relationships. Quinn, although he had an ideal, supportive father, experienced a lack of
quality time with his dad. His father, a soldier who fought in Afghanistan, died during his
deployment. This left Quinn having to care for his little brother while his mother worked
12-hour night shifts. The emotional pain Quinn experienced also took a toll on his family,
leaving them in a low-income, single-parent household. Rashad’s paternal relationship
involves struggling to live up to his father’s (David) ROTC expectations. David
indirectly forces Rashad to join the ROTC, despite Rashad’s lack of interest. He also
becomes suspicious of Rashad’s behaviors the night of his arrest, because he believes no
cop can be wrong.

Literary Elements
- Symbolism: ​Similar to other books we have read throughout this course, symbolism is
heavily used in ​All American Boys.​ The ROTC uniform, basketball, and Jill’s party all
serve to express the themes presented in the novel. I feel as though symbolism is heavily
used in YA literature because students are beginning to learn different literary elements
during this time; seeing what they’re learning in their ELA class in a story they like may
help them improve their desire to learn.
- Point of View: ​All American Boys​ is told from two different points of view: Rashad’s &
Quinn’s. In doing this, Reynolds & Kiely allow the reader to see the thinking and
viewpoints of both characters; both characters are experiencing different pains, emotions,
and forward thinking that it’d be hard to portray that from one point of view.
Connections
It is hard to pinpoint one or two books that captures the importance and relevance of ​All
American Boys​. Through doing a little research, and knowledge I previously had, I think that
most of Jason Reynolds work relates to black youth, and the struggles that they go through. I
recently read ​Ghost​ by Reynolds over the summer for my internship. The story similarly touched
on racism, stereotyping, and the everyday struggles black youth go through to survive.

Reader Response
I… loved… this… book! I think the message behind ​All American Boys​ is (unfortunately) still
relevant today, making it an essential addition to a classroom library to show students that their
voices are heard and do matter. I was doing more research on the novel, and found an interview
quote from Reynold & Kiely that sum up the book, the emotion while reading, and the
importance of giving students this text. “As a black man and a white man, both writers and
educators, we came together to co-write a book about how systemic racism and police brutality
affect the lives of young people in America, in order to create an important, unique, and honest
work that would give young people and the people who educate them a tool for talking about
these difficult but absolutely vital conversations.” The source came from Brendan Kiely’s
website brendankiely.com.

Connection to Inquiry Essential Question

What does it mean to be black youth?
→ ​All American Boys​ heavily connects with our inquiry question for this week: What
does it mean to be black youth? In today’s society, I feel like we are still experiencing prejudice
among several races (something I think we will see in our next inquiry book, too). Life for black
youth is challenging; they’re faced with meeting expectations and standards that they’re parents
set, all while trying to be accepted by society.