Each summer, Taft students and faculty prepare for the coming school year by reading a book chosen by a committee composed of both students and faculty. This all-school reading selection acts a shared experience to build community and foster discussion at the beginning of the academic year. This year the Summer Reading Committee has chosen All American Boys, a 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature. Authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely will visit Taft on October 4, 2016 to continue discussion of the book and its themes with Taft students and faculty.
All American Boys is the story of two teens—one black, one white—dealing with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension. Reynolds and Kiely wrote the book in tandem, telling the story through the alternating perspectives of the two main characters, Rashad and Quinn.
All American Boys has been hailed by author Matt de la Pena as “a first rate exploration of one of the most important issues of the day…” Author Laurie Halse Anderson notes that the book is “life-changing, nation-changing,” and “written with fire and love and courage.”
In addition to reading All American Boys, each Taft student is asked to read a second book chosen from the list of selections offered by individual Taft faculty and staff.
View the full list of Summer Reading options.
About the Authors
After earning a B.A. in English from The University of Maryland, College, Mr. Reynolds received critical acclaimed for his novel, When I Was the Greatest, for which he was the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
Mr. Kiely received his M.F.A. from the City College of New York. His debut novel, The Gospel of Winter, was selected as one of the American Library Association’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults titles of 2015 and was a Kirkus Reviews selection for Best Teen Books of 2014