Rashad’s big plans to go to a great party with all his friends are ruined when he gets accused and beaten up for stealing by a nearby police officer. He’s a high schooler attending a military program, and even though his life was hard enough with all the pressure from his father, it just became a lot more painful and complicated. Even though Rashad didn’t know it, Quinn saw it all go down, and he knew something about the cop that he really didn’t want to believe. Tensions are high within the school and community, and even the closest of friendships and strongest of beliefs are challenged in these difficult circumstances. 

The events of the book are unfortunately based on real world events and open your eyes to the difficulties faced by the communities and individuals dealing with police brutality. The book has a pretty clear conclusion and does not leave the reader hanging. 

Quinn’s journey throughout the book as he finds himself and establishes his beliefs is relatable and enjoyable to read. Rashad’s character is not developed as well and he mostly serves the purpose of igniting change. The other minor characters do go through some changes and get some development but not much.

Overall, the book is well-written and I enjoyed it. While I would not say that it was one of my favourites this year, it did call the readers to action and discussed a tricky yet incredibly important topic. I did enjoy the progression of events, but the character development was its weakest point in my opinion.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the issues of racism and police brutality from the perspective of both a victim and a member of the community who was otherwise involved with the incident. The book would be best for those in Grade 7-9 as it is not very hard to read but does have some darker themes. 

If you enjoyed reading books such as The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, and Dear Martin, you will likely enjoy this book as well. However, I do believe that all of those books are more well-written than All American Boys. If I were to order them from best to worst the list would be as follows: The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, Dear Martin, All American Boys. All of these books deal with issues in racism, but the books by Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give and On the Come Up) are more engaging and intriguing for the reader.