All American Boys is the story of police brutality as told through the eyes of two boys, one black and one white. Rashad is the victim, Quinn is the witness, and their friendship and all they thought they had in common is called into question after Rashad is brutally beaten by a local policeman after bumping into a white woman at a corner market. While Rashad recovers, Quinn must grapple with what he has seen, how to speak out, and how to navigate the fact that the officer who beat Rashad was also a close family friend.
All American Boys is a timely and heart-breaking novel about race and police brutality in America. As the back of the book cover states, "Rashad and Quinn - one black, one white, both American - face the unspeakable truth that racism and prejudice didn't die after the civil rights movement. There's a future at stake, a future where no one else will have to be absent because of police brutality. They just have to risk everything to change the world."
This book was number three on ALA's Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020. According to ALA, the reasons for this are, "Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now." Instead of having the tough conversations needed to solve systematic racism, censors would rather sweep it under the rug in the name of "protecting" young people. This is an important book to include any any library collection.