Ghost Boys begins at the end of Jerome Rogers' life. Indeed, the novel's first word, floating in large, parchment-colored text over a cloudy black wash of color is "Dead." Main character Jerome narrates his own departure from his body, the experience of watching as a crowd gathers around the form that was once his, the sound of his mother wailing for him, the conversation of the cops standing around-- including the cop who shot him.
The novel moves surreally back and forth between the past and the present, between life and death. Alive in the past, Jerome narrates his everyday: life in his poor, loving home with his Mom, Dad, little sister Kim, and Grandma; being bullied at school; his dreams for the future; and making friends with Carlos, the new kid, who uses a toy gun to scare away the bullies before lending it to Jerome, thinking he's being kind. Dead in the present, Jerome finds himself invisibly near his community as they mourn him, experiencing guilt, grief, and anger. But Jerome also finds himself in the unexpected company of another ghost boy, Emmett Till, and a living white girl, Sarah, daughter of the cop who killed Jerome. As the novel sways backward and forward between his remembered life--imperfect but vital-- and the unending time after, Jerome reckons with his death and the aftershocks that ripple outward from it as well as the implications of his new companions.
Heartrending and evocative in subject matter, Jewell Parker Rhodes renders her story in clear, short sentences that make for quick and gripping reading accessible to young readers. The subject matter is intense and unflinching, plainly recounting the death of a child at the hands of ostensible "law enforcement," but the story doesn't seek attention by lingering in its inextricable violence. Instead, Ghost Boys lingers in a dimensional examination of racism, privilege, and power. Through Jerome's conversations with Sarah, careful attention is paid to the fact that the murder of black people at the hands of police has implications for all community-members, and that everyone can take action in ways both large and small to confront racism, violence, and numbness. At first unwilling to accept that her father acted out of racist prejudice in his killing of Jerome, Sarah eventually comes to terms with this reality and takes action to make a better future. Through Jerome's conversations with Emmett Till, Ghost Boys serves as witness to the long history of racist violence in the US and provides a vivid opportunity for young readers who may have never heard his name to learn Emmett Till's story.
Ghost Boys is haunting in all the most important ways. Painful and honest, lingering in one's mind long after the story ends, a powerful and life-affirming reminder of the vital, everyday importance of fighting for justice, witnessing injustice, and honoring those who have gone before us.
Subjects this book includes that some readers may be sensitive to: Bullying, racism, murder by police.