Overview of Ghost Boys

When a Black boy is shot by police, his ghost witnesses the aftermath alongside Emmett Till. This New York Times bestseller with over 50 awards balances innocence and outrage, yet remains banned in some communities. What truths about racism can children's eyes reveal?

Key Themes in Ghost Boys

  • systemic racial injustice
  • police violence consequences
  • historical racial trauma
  • intergenerational grief
  • prejudice and perception

Quotes from Ghost Boys

  • every goodbye ain't gone

  • Another boy shot just because he's black.

  • Come straight home.

  • My father didn't really see you at all.

Characters in Ghost Boys

  • Jerome RogersTwelve-year-old protagonist killed by police
  • Emmett TillHistorical figure and ghost of a murdered boy
  • CarlosNew student and Jerome's first friend
  • Officer MooreThe policeman who shot Jerome

About the Author

About the Author of Ghost Boys

Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Boys and an award-winning writer whose work champions social justice, racial equity, and environmental stewardship. Ghost Boys is a powerful middle-grade novel that tackles police violence and systemic racism through the eyes of a 12-year-old Black boy killed by a white officer, who confronts his death alongside the ghosts of Emmett Till and Tamir Rice.

Rhodes has authored over 20 books spanning adult fiction and children's literature, including the acclaimed Black Brother, Black Brother, Ninth Ward, Towers Falling, and Bayou Magic.

She holds a Doctor of Arts from Carnegie Mellon University and serves as the Virginia G. Piper Endowed Chair and Founding Artistic Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University, where she teaches writing and inspires the next generation of storytellers.

Ghost Boys has won over 50 honors and awards, including the Coretta Scott King Honor Award, and has been translated into French, German, Korean, Italian, Persian, Mandarin, and Japanese.

Download Summary of Ghost Boys

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