Rashad and Quinn, two high schoolers, stop by their neighborhood store on a Friday night on their way to a party. One teen is judged by the color of his skin and what he is wearing while the other teen witnesses how this judgement goes down. "All American Boys" is an extremely well-written, thought-provoking read about racism that takes place consciously and subliminally in our lives. "Never judge a book by its cover" we've been told time and time again. Well this book tells us, never judge a person by the color of their skin, by the clothes they wear, or where they live. Good advice!

This is one of my absolute favorite books. I loved the main characters and watching as they challenged their own worldviews. This book does a great job of confronting white privilege and highlighting systematic racism in America and police brutality through multiple perspectives. All American Boys is a truly wonderful book and an important read, now more than ever.

Literally the best book of the century. So true yet so heartreaking

Great book about police brutality. I appreciated how two authors of different color wrote this book about two teens of different color. It gave the story authenticity.

I loved this book because the characters absolutely sweep you away. From the beginning you will fall in love with and root for these boys: two young men struggling with their respective journeys. Ultimately, both must find the inner strength to confront the challenges that life throws their way.

All American Boys was my introduction to YA fiction dealing with police brutality issues. I finished this book the day I started it, which should tell you almost everything you need to know about it. I was completely sucked in. I started it on audio and switched to the print edition because I had it available and it is faster to read. On quick note on the audio, there are a couple text conversations in the book, and the way they are handled is clunky.

All American Boys tells the story of two high school boys: Rashad, an African-American ROTC member that is also a talented artist, and Quinn, your average All-American white student athlete. Very early in the novel Rashad is a victim of police brutality. Quinn is a witness. He is also the best friend of the brother of the police officer involved. The novel deals with the aftermath and the two boys' attempts to come to terms with what happened.

I thought the subject matter was handled well. The incident itself is fairly straightforward, but the characters' attempts to reframe their understanding of themselves adds the right kind of complexity.

As for content and who is this appropriate for, the teenagers drink. There are references to teens shoplifting and marijuana use.

There are at least two sides to every story and with a two person interwoven narrative, readers are presented with two sides of a standard night that turned into something much more.

This book views a huge societal issue that we still go through today, police brutality. When I first started reading this novel, I had immediately gotten attached to it. The story first began with a sixteen year old boy who gets wrongly accused of stealing a bag of chips and gets beaten by a police officer. A teenage boy witnesses it but does not act since that police officer happened to be the brother of his best friend. The book was a large emotional rollercoaster and I certainly would read it many times again. I recommend this book for high school students since there are some curses. I rate this novel a 9/10!
@YoumnaLovesBooks of The Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board

This book really pictured the real look of racism in this time of age. I absolutely loved the plot of the story, every page was a heart wrenching and worrying which I loved. The book started off with a simple accident with a lady tripping over a boy named Rashad at a store, making him drop a bag of chips. When he dropped the bag of chips the lady assumed he was stealing, but it didn’t matter what Rashad said next that it was an accident, that he wasn’t stealing. But a cop was sent to the scene and assumed because of his race he was stealing. This is definitely a book for people who can handle gloomy stories, and who like lessons being learned over the book. I recommend this book for a school read. Rating: 5/5
@momo of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library

When I first picked up this book, I judged it by the title and cover. (In my defense, I don't know anyone that doesn't). After reading it, I think I got the true meaning behind it. The author wants "all american boys"... to see the truth of America and its racism problem for what it is, and to stand for justice. This made me tear up in so many places, and it was so hard to read knowing that it is happening in so many schools/states in the US, maybe even here in Canada. I hope more people can read this and feel the way I did - a sense of inspiration to rise and speak up against the barriers in our systems today.
@Siri of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library

Did you love The Hate U Give? Well, then you need to check out All American Boys. This a book that focuses on racial prejudice, unlikely friendship, societal discontent, and it will punch you in the feelings over and over again. Written from two different perspectives on the same event, there is such a fantastic and deep conflict in this story that is both powerful as it is enlightening. Highly recommended for those who love The Hate U Give, Poet X, and Tyler Johnson Was Here.

It was good but I was hoping it would dive deeper into the aftermath of what happened to the cop and how did Rashad continue on with his life after this event. I would have also liked to see how Quinn and Jill dealt with their friends and family who were on the cops side.