Black Brother, Black Brother
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Book Overview
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition. Framed. Bullied. Disliked. But I know I can still be the best. Sometimes, 12-year-old Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, most of the students don't look like him. They don't like him either. Dubbing him "Black Brother," Donte's teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey. When he's bullied and framed by the captain of the fencing team, "King" Alan, he's suspended from school and arrested. Terrified, searching for a place where he belongs, Donte joins a local youth center and meets former Olympic fencer Arden Jones. With Arden's help, he begins training as a competitive fencer, setting his sights on taking down the fencing team captain, no matter what. As Donte hones his fencing skills and grows closer to achieving his goal, he learns the fight for justice is far from over. Now Donte must confront his bullies, racism, and the corrupt systems of power that led to his arrest. Powerful and emotionally gripping, Black Brother, Black Brother is a careful examination of the school-to-prison pipeline and follows one boy's fight against racism and his empowering path to finding his voice.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0316493805
ISBN13:9780316493802
Release Date:March 2020
Publisher:Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Length:256 Pages
Weight:0.69 lbs.
Dimensions:1.2" x 5.5" x 7.7"
Age Range:8 to 12 years
Grade Range:Grades 3 to 7
Customer Reviews
1 rating
A great short, simple read on race, systemic inequality, and finding one's place
Published by mikayakatnt , 1 year ago
There are many parallels that Jewell Parker Rhodes draws out between the private school and the inner city. She also draws a lot on race and how people who look different are treated.
The sentences and chapters are short and easy to read and follow. Yet, I found the plot a bit too cliche and overdone for my tastes. The obvious bad guys are bad and the protagonist obviously is going to win in the end. Some of the plots felt forced to move along and end predictable.
Toward the end, Rhodes seems to add her own comments using the voice of the characters. I was surprised to learn about Alexander Dumas and his father.
Though many people face the real-world problems faced in the book, this can be a good intro for anyone curious about race in America.
3/5. Good fiction on institutional racism, determination, and finding one's place in an alien world.
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