And their parents are right there with them. But what really stands out is the love and support they share as brothers. Trey is a star athlete at school Donte is not. Donte’s skin is like their African-American mother, and Trey’s is like their Norwegian father. The bond between brothers Donte and Trey is strong. The characters are multi-layered and complex. It is also a story about hope, believing in yourself, and choosing a higher path. Rhodes masterfully captures the pain of racial injustice for a 12-year-old black boy attending an all-white prep school outside of Boston. Jewell Park Rhodes’s Black Brother, Black Brother is a timely, intelligent and well-executed novel for children and adults. Powerful and emotionally gripping, Black Brother, Black Brother is a careful examination of the school-to-prison pipeline and follows one boy’s fight against racism and his empowering path to finding his voice. Now Donte must confront his bullies, racism, and the corrupt systems of power that led to his arrest. With Arden’s help, he begins training as a competitive fencer, setting his sights on taking down the fencing team captain, no matter what.Īs Donte hones his fencing skills and grows closer to achieving his goal, he learns the fight for justice is far from over. Terrified, searching for a place where he belongs, Donte joins a local youth center and meets former Olympic fencer Arden Jones. When he’s bullied and framed by the captain of the fencing team, “King” Alan, he’s suspended from school, arrested and taken to jail for something he didn’t do. Dubbing him “Black Brother,” Donte’s teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, most of the students don’t look like him. Sometimes, 12-year-old Donte wishes he were invisible. Whether shrouded in fabric or slipping on gold, it wouldn’t matter to me. Wearing Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloak or Frodo Baggins’s Elvish ring.

Themes: Fencing, African Americans, Brothers, Racism, Preparatory schools, Family life, Friendship

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