Black Brother, Black Brother is the story of Donte, a grade 7 boy who goes to a prep school where he is constantly being blamed for things and teased by the popular boys at school. Dubbed "Black Brother" because Donte is black and his brother Trey is lighter skinned because they are the children of biracial parents. Donte is tired of feeling like he doesn't fit in and tired of being picked on by Alan, captain of the fencing team. Donte wants nothing more than to show Alan that he is as good as him. Donte then finds a former Olympic fencer at the local Boys and Girls club and begins to train with him. Along the way, Donte deals with racism, bullies and determines what is important to him and the type of person he wants to be.
I enjoyed reading this book- I read it in about 2 hours straight because I couldn't put it down. Both books I've read by Jewell Parker Rhodes have a very unique writing style- the prose is choppy and doesn't flow naturally. However I believe that is purposeful because her books deal with uncomfortable topics. I loved the fencing references throughout the story. Fencing is a sport that is not as well known, and I can see how the detail about the sport would be of real interest to many who read this book.
Several of us are looking for a book to read aloud to our grade 6-8 students this upcoming school year, this is one that is in contention for sure. Even if it isn't the book to we choose to read aloud, it is a book that belongs in every classroom/ school library for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment