All American Boys

According to professor Luke Rodesiler’s suggested lesson plan concerning All American Boys, the novel provides educators with many opportunities to discuss current social and political issues including police violence, racism, athletes as activists, and protesting.[5] Rodesiler recommends that educators have their students complete projects such as researching incidents of police violence and studying judicial rulings on student protests and police violence as a way to connect All American Boys to American society.[5] High school teachers Jody Pollock and Tashema Spence-Davis provide a model to incorporate All American Boys into a curriculum to increase students’ understanding of socio-political issues.[6] This novel helped uplift their majority-minority and marginalized students by initiating conversations about racial bias and equity.[6] As Rodesiler explains, teachers can frame discussion questions around each issue, prompting students to identify social justice issues throughout the novel, and connect them to current-day America.[5]

Since its release in 2015, All American Boys has been praised by critics for its discussions of police brutality and racism.[16][17][18][19] In a favorable review, Publishers Weekly called the novel “painful and all-too-timely."[19] The review went on: “the scenario that Reynolds and Kiely depict has become a recurrent feature of news reports, and a book that lets readers think it through outside of the roiling emotions of a real-life event is both welcome and necessary."[19] In her starred review in School Library Journal, Ashleigh Williams said that All American Boys is able to effectively illustrate the aftermath of police brutality through the conflicting emotions, which affect entire communities.[18] Williams notes that the novel provides many diverse perspectives and emphasizes the tension between these perspectives resulting from racism and privilege.[18] In his starred review, Booklist reviewer Michael Cart said that All American Boys starts a necessary dialogue surrounding race relations and police brutality.[16] At the same time, Cart says, the novel is “more than a problem novel; it’s a carefully plotted, psychologically acute, character-driven work of fiction that dramatizes an all-too-frequent occurrence."[16]

In 2020, All American Boys landed the third position on the American Library Association's list of the most commonly banned and challenged books in the United States.[20] The book was banned, challenged, and/or restricted "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.'"[20]

In South Carolina, police have spoken out against the teaching of All American Boys in a Wando High School English class.[21] The novel was one of eight choices for summer reading for incoming freshmen.[22] Police argued that the novel teaches children to not trust police officers or law enforcement in general.[21] The law enforcement union argued that students reading the novel at Wando are at an age where the majority of them have not had experiences with law enforcement, and are therefore very impressionable on the subject.[21] The school librarian fought for the book to continue being taught, and criticized police in the area for not being open to having difficult discussions with students.[21] The National Coalition Against Censorship wrote to the principal, urging them not to remove the book from Wando High School’s curriculum.[22] In response, Principal Dr. Sherry Eppelsheimer of Wando High School agreed to reconsider the decision on banning All American Boys.[21]

Two parents, one of whom a police officer with children at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius, North Carolina, challenged All American Boys.[23] Police officers, faculty members, and community members were all involved in the review process, with the school inviting officers to attend classes in which the novel was taught.[23] After the review process, Board members decided in September 2019 to keep the book as a part of the eighth-grade curriculum.[23] Board members and leaders stated that the novel has the ability to open student's minds to social justice issues and contemporary issues they face.[23]