Windows & Mirrors: Ghost Boys

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.

Today we’re featuring Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes.

Jewell Parker Rhodes is the author of now five wonderful middle-grade books. Ninth Ward, a Coretta Scott King honor book, Sugar, winner of the Jane Adams Peace Association book award, Bayou Magic, and Towers Falling. Her most recent story, Ghost Boys, burned a hole right through my heart.

Twelve-year-old Jerome lives in a troubled neighborhood. He and his new friend Carlos are bullied at school. Carlos gets the idea to carry a toy gun to keep the troublemakers away. At the park, Jerome tries to run away from police when they mistaken the toy gun for a weapon. He is gunned down by a white police officer and becomes a ghost. As a ghost, he can see his family and community suffering after his tragic death. He joins an army of other ghost boys who have died under similar circumstance such as Emmett Till. Their mission is to help stop racial killings.

Jerome discovers that Sarah, the daughter of the white police officer that killed him, can see him and talk to him. Though Sarah loves her dad, she can sense that he’s done something wrong. Through her, Jerome has a way to make the world understand the cruelty of racial bias and violence.

Jerome’s painfully realistic voice and heart-wrenching story makes Jewell Parker Rhodes’ storytelling powerful and gripping. The timeliness of this book is especially important as it provides a window for exploring important topics such a police brutality, racial bias, privilege, and the importance of learning from the tragic stories such as those of Tamir Rice, Emmett Till, and many others.

Tissue alert: This book evokes strong emotions.

Ghost Boys is a must-purchase for middle school classrooms. It has earned FOUR STARRED 🌟🌟🌟🌟 reviews–Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus!

Because we all benefit from having bookstores in our communities (especially authors!), I highly recommend you purchase this wonderful book at a bookstore near you! It is available on April 17th. Go ahead and preorder!

To learn more about lovely Jewell Parker Rhodes, check out her website and follower her on Twitter and on Instagram. Even better, listen to her discuss the importance of historical fiction (and time travel) in this video!