Ghost Boys
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
18 jurisdictions · Banned 2021-2024 · Published
Ghost Boys is Jewell Parker Rhodes's 2018 middle-grade novel about a Black twelve-year-old killed by police who becomes a ghost and meets Emmett Till, banned or restricted in 18+ U.S. jurisdictions.
Why it was banned
The book has been banned in Florida and Pennsylvania districts for its depiction of a police shooting and for what challengers call its "anti-police" framing. Rhodes has said publicly that she wrote the police officer with full humanity, but the cited reasoning typically does not engage with the book's actual treatment of its characters.
Cited reasons
- anti-police messaging claim
- depiction of racial violence
Primary states
Florida, Pennsylvania
Why it matters
Ghost Boys was one of the first middle-grade novels to address modern police shootings of Black children directly. Its structural device of connecting the protagonist with Emmett Till links the present to the history of racial violence in America. Removing the book from elementary and middle school libraries removes a tool specifically designed to give young readers vocabulary for what they are seeing in the news.
Themes
- police violence
- Emmett Till
- middle grade
- racial history
Awards
- Walter Dean Myers Award Honor
- Jane Addams Children's Book Award
Where to buy
The Ledger recommends Black-owned booksellers. Each stocks this title or can order it.
- MahoganyBooksNational Harbor, Maryland · Founded
Independent bookstore specializing in books written for, by, and about people of the African diaspora.
- Marcus BooksOakland, California · Founded
The oldest independent Black-owned bookstore in the United States, named for political activist Marcus Garvey.
- Loyalty BookstoreWashington, D.C. · Founded
Black, queer, and woman-owned bookstore with locations in Washington, D.C. and Silver Spring, Maryland.
- Harriett's BookshopPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania · Founded
Named for Harriet Tubman, focusing on women authors, artists, and activists.
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Related banned books
Books in the catalog that share themes with this one.
Documented by The Ledger. A record of what Black America built and what was taken.
Book cover via Open Library. Editorial use under fair use.