A Book Club Book: Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

 Hi Everyone!

This is a book that I read for my school book club and when I first saw it, I wasn't that inspired. It seemed like another one of those average fantasy/sci-fi (why did I think it fitted into either of those genres?) book. How very wrong I was. 

This is about Jerome who is shot by a police officer who mistakes his fake gun for a real one. He then, as a ghost, discovers the other ghost boys: boys who have been shot or killed unfairly by people with a racist influence. They share their stories, especially Emmett Till. The only person he can still talk to aside from the ghost boys is the daughter of his killer.

This book made me cry. It made me horrified. It made me feel so much. It's a book about racism, which obviously I've been taught about before but never in this way. Never with this reality and brutality. I can't even describe this book. It's so important. 

The parts when Jerome goes back to see his family were heartbreaking and hearing Emmett Till's story was...something I think needs to be heard more, especially by my generation. I think many do not realise that racism is still present and this book really shows the extent to which racism has been and still is present. There is one specific scene where you see all the ghost boys and it was so hard to read. The way that you were taken into the court room added so much and the parts with Jerome's killer's daughter were very well done too. 

This book is one of the most impacting things I've ever read, especially since all the Black Lives Matter protests from 2020. I am so glad that I read this and without my school book club I never would have. It's something I would never have been attracted by or wanted to pick up on my own so it's really made book club worth it as some of the other books we've read I haven't loved.

Overall, it is a must read, as quoted by Angie Thomas, the author of The Hate U Give on the front cover of the book. Obviously be careful for trigger warnings but this book needs to be read. I think adults could benefit hugely from this too.

I hope you are all reading some amazing books (and if not, this one is great!). 

Happy Reading! 📚

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