Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

 

Over the weekend, I read Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes. This realistic fiction novel is about a twelve-year-old boy, Jerome Rogers, who observes his family and community as a ghost after he is shot and killed by a police officer while playing with a toy gun. Jerome wishes someone in his family could see him, but he is surprised when the officer's daughter, Sarah, sees him at the preliminary hearing for her father. Although he doesn't know why she can see him, he slowly befriends her and soon meets another ghost boy, Emmett Till. Emmett reveals to Jerome how the history of racism lead to his murder and inspires him to help Sarah understand her father's prejudice.

This novel was such a gripping story and I finished it in about a day. It was so devastating what happened to Jerome as the story gradually revealed the events of the day that led to him being murdered by a police officer. I was drawn in by Jerome's relationships with his family and a new student he befriended earlier that day, Carlos. Although I was heartbroken by the unimaginable grief of Jerome's family, it was Carlos's guilt that really struck me because he was the one who gave Jerome the toy gun. While Jerome's sister, Kim, knew about it, I wondered when Carlos would tell the rest of Jerome's family. I also thought it was so interesting how the author incorporated Emmett Till, a real life victim of racism in 1955, in the story. Jerome was so focused on his own pain, and Emmett was a guide in teaching Jerome that he's just one victim in the pattern of racism and prejudice throughout American history. I think that Sarah is the character who grows the most in the story, though. It was very difficult for her to come to terms with what her father did, but eventually she understood the magnitude of what happened when she found video of Jerome's murder and asked her school librarian about Emmett. This knowledge led to her deciding to make a difference by the end of the novel. While tragic, Ghost Boys is a powerful and timely choice for anyone who hopes for a better world.