A powerful, timely new book by award-winning co-authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely brings the recent news headlines surrounding police brutality and the incendiary issues of racial profiling into sharp focus. All American Boys is the story of Rashad and Quinn, two classmates—one black and one white—who are affected in vastly different ways by a single violent act. After high-school senior Rashad is mistakenly thought to be shoplifting at a corner store, police officer Paul Galluzzo pummels him with a brutal beating that is caught on camera and witnessed by his basketball teammate Quinn, who also happens to be living with Galluzzo since his own father was killed in Afghanistan.
In alternating chapters, Rashad and Quinn share their compelling stories of what it means to be a young man in America today by focusing on important issues of race, perception, community, stereotypes and prejudice. All American Boys enhances the multitude of media conversations on police violence, and it is sure to start discussions among both teen readers and adult audiences.
Reynolds received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland, College Park. His novel When I Was the Greatest was awarded the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. He currently lives in Brooklyn. Kiely is a Master of Fine Arts graduate of City College of New York and currently resides in Greenwich Village. His debut novel, The Gospel of Winter, was a Kirkus Reviews selection for the Best Teen Book of 2014 and has been translated into eight languages.
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Reynolds and Kiely will appear together at Boswell Book Co. at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Book Happenings:
David Maraniss
6:30 p.m., Oct. 8
Milwaukee Public Library’s Centennial Hall
733 N. Eighth St.
Before its financial collapse, Detroit was a great city—from the revolutionary music of Motown to the booming auto industry, this Midwestern metropolis was thriving. In Washington Post Associate Editor David Maraniss’ new book, Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story, he shares a detailed, sprawling history of the Motor City at the height of its recent past. Maraniss, a bestselling author of books on Bill Clinton, Vince Lombardi and Roberto Clemente, will speak in an event co-sponsored by Boswell Book Co.
Carolyn Forché
6 p.m., Oct. 12
Raynor Memorial Library Beaumier Suites at Marquette University
1355 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Some poets sit home and write—and do it well (Emily Dickinson). Others prefer active, hands-on engagement with the world outside. Carolyn Forché is among the latter. A poet and human rights activist, Forche has worked in trouble spots across the world, including time with Óscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador martyred in 1980 by right-wing death squads. Forché will give a lecture, “Writing into the World: A Poet’s Journey of Witness.”
