June Reading Challenge: A Novel with a Person on the Cover

June’s Reading Challenge is to read a novel with a person on the cover.

I could never have predicted what is currently happening in America when I decided what novel I would read for this month’s challenge.

But I did not consider changing my selection because I believe it is even more crucial than ever to read All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely as the aftereffects police brutality and racism are playing out in cities across the United States.

I grew up in the south not long after desegregation. Desegregation was still really a theory in many towns and this was driven home when our neighbors across the street, a wonderful Black couple, were burned out of their home by bigots who did not want “their kind” in our white neighborhood. I also lived in a rural town where there was a sea of white faces with the occasional darker complexion from a very small number of Hispanic Americans or Italian Americans. I witnessed our neighbor’s children (younger than ten years old) call good friends of ours, whose father is married to a marvelous woman from Thailand, the ‘N’ word and tell them to “go back where they came from”.

All of these experiences shaped my fierce belief that ALL people should be judged on WHO they are, not the color of their skin or their ethnicity. But as a white person, I want to fully understand what their life experiences are since they are, often, so very different than my own. I want to learn about and understand the culture and/or beliefs that are unique to them. To do this, I often turn to books or movies.

And this is why I selected All American Boys for this month’s reading challenge. This young adult novel explores race relations after a shocking instance of police brutality. With this very scene playing out in my own country right at this moment, it is more important than ever than ever to view the ugliness of racism and the lasting impact on not just the local community but the ripple effects across the nation. (to see the arms raised in the air on this book cover sends chills down my spine considering this is one of the visceral images seen in protests occurring right now)

Please click HERE to learn more about All American Boys.

My review schedule is pretty full right now, so I’m only committing to one book for this month’s challenge.

I am looking forward to your selection!

Happy Reading!!

If you participated in last month’s challenge, check out the discussion post HERE and let us know if you met your challenge!