Summary
All American Boys is narrated in the first person, alternating between the point of view of the two protagonists, Rashad and Quinn. The novel begins on Friday with Rashad narrating. Rashad is leaving ROTC with one thought in mind: it’s Friday and he wants to party with his friends. Rashad is eager to get out of his ROTC uniform, which he has to wear every Friday to school. In a flashback, Rashad remembers how his father convinced him to join ROTC. Sternly, his father would talk to him about his time in the Army and the police force, before he found work in an office. Tired of having this conversation repeatedly with his father, Rashad joins ROTC to make his father happy.
Back in the present, Rashad meets his friends in their usual hang-out spot, the bathroom. His friends English, Shannon, and Carlos are all there. English and Rashad have been friends since they were children; English is cool, handsome, the captain of the basketball team, and surprisingly modest. Rashad changes out of his uniform while joking around with his friends and talking about going to a party that night. The four friends say goodbye and plan to meet up later on. Rashad plans to get a ride with Carlos who, like Rashad, is interested in art. Rashad steps out of the bathroom as “regular Rashad:” in a t-shirt, sneakers, pants sagged down, and his brother’s old leather jacket. Before visiting his older brother Spoony to borrow some money for the night, he decides to head to Jerry’s Corner Mart to pick up some chips and gum.
Inside the store, the cashier eyes Rashad suspiciously. Rashad is unsurprised to see a policeman there, because Jerry’s is known in the neighborhood as an easy place to steal from. Rashad himself has never stolen because he’s too scared of what his father would do to him if he got caught. While deciding which chips to buy, Rashad sees a white woman picking out a beer, dressed as if she just got off work. Rashad wants to call Spoony to let him know he’s on his way, and realizes he left his phone in his duffle bag. Rashad tucks the chips under his arm and bends down and opens his duffle bag. At that moment, the white woman, not seeing him, steps back and trips over him. She falls on top of him, and the chips and beer go flying. Hearing the noise, the cashier comes over and sees Rashad with his duffle bag open and the chips lying in the aisle. The cop approaches and, concerned to see the woman picking herself up off the ground, asks if Rashad did something to her. The woman is confused by the question and says no, but then the clerk jumps in with, “Yeah, he was trying to steal those chips!” Rashad tries to explain, but the policeman cuts him off, yelling at him to shut up. Meanwhile, the white woman slowly inches away to another aisle. The policeman grabs Rashad’s arm and calls into his walkie-talkie for backup.
Events escalate within a matter of seconds. The policeman pulls Rashad outside and slams Rashad to the ground. Rashad is in incredible pain. While the policeman handcuffs and searches him, Rashad reacts to the pain by moving around, which the policeman interprets as Rashad resisting arrest. In response, the policeman beats Rashad, whispering in his ear that Rashad needs to learn to respect authority. Through tears and blood, Rashad vaguely sees people watching the events unfold. His last thought before losing consciousness is that he hopes the cop won't kill him.
The second chapter takes place on the same afternoon as the first, but now events are narrated from Quinn’s point of view. Quinn is a white teenager who lives in the same neighborhood as Rashad. He is looking forward to going to a party with his friends Guzzo and Dwyer that night, but first needs to get his little brother Willy to their family friend's house. Quinn’s father died while serving in Afghanistan, and Quinn feels a responsibility to fill his father’s shoes. When he drops Willy off at the Cambis’ house, Mrs. Cambi gives Quinn a proud, pitying smile. Quinn hates this look, one he’s gotten often since his father died.
Quinn meets up with Guzzo and Dwyer near Jerry’s Corner Mart; they are impatient to get the night started, knowing that it’s their last night out before basketball season starts. Quinn notes that they always go to Jerry’s because it’s the easiest place for them to get alcohol. Using money from his summer job, Quinn goes to find someone to buy them beer since he and his friends are still underage. Leaving Guzzo and Dwyer in the alley, Quinn waits part way down the block for someone who’ll buy them beer. Suddenly, Quinn sees a policeman burst out of Jerry’s with a young Black teenager in tow. Only twenty feet away, Quinn watches as the cop beats the teenager on the ground. He has a nagging feeling he knows the boy, and with shock he realizes that the cop is Guzzo’s older brother, Paul. Quinn watches, transfixed, as Paul pins the teenager down and violently beats him up. The sound of approaching sirens pulls Quinn out of his reverie, and he runs back to Guzzo and Dwyer, who are still waiting for him in the alley. Hurriedly, Quinn lets them know what happened, and insists that they get away from the scene before they’re questioned by the police. Guzzo is worried about his brother, but Quinn assures him Paul is okay. The three friends decide to grab a slice of pizza to calm down, but all Quinn can think about is the look of rage he saw on Paul’s face.
The next day, Rashad drifts in and out of consciousness, remembering the previous day when he was brought to the hospital, bleeding and in handcuffs. Rashad recalls how the doctors attended to him, informing him he had a broken nose and a few fractured ribs. A police officer stood guard outside his hospital room to make sure he did not run away until his parents arrived. Then the officer explained to Rashad’s parents that Rashad had been caught stealing and was also being charged with resisting arrest and public nuisance. Exhausted and finding it difficult to breathe with his broken nose, Rashad says nothing, as the officer informs his parents that Rashad will have to appear in court.
Fully awake on Saturday morning, Rashad sees his mother in the hospital room. Worried, she asks him how he is, but then his father walks in, barely acknowledging Rashad. His father angrily starts to question Rashad about why he was shoplifting. Rashad denies he did anything wrong, but his father is unconvinced. Rashad walks his parents through his version of events; his mother is horrified, but his father responds, “Were your pants sagging?” Rashad’s father continues his interrogation of Rashad’s behavior and how Rashad could have been responsible for how the police treated him. Rashad is feeling attacked and angry that his father doesn’t believe him, when Spoony walks in. Spoony greets his mom and gives a perfunctory greeting to their father, with whom Spoony doesn’t get along. After hearing Rashad’s account of events, Spoony immediately takes Rashad’s side, infuriated by how his brother was treated. Their mother tells Spoony to calm down, which only makes him more upset. Spoony continues talking about how frequently Black men are killed by police in the U.S. and how close Rashad came to sharing the same fate. Their father is unimpressed by Spoony, seeing his outburst as overdramatic. The tension is broken when the doctor comes in to let the family know that Rashad has internal bleeding; he will need to stay in the hospital for a few more days until they know whether he will heal on his own or need surgery. Later in the day, while their parents are asleep, Spoony tells Rashad he’s not going to let what happened be hidden or ignored. A part of Rashad just wants to accept his punishment and quietly move on. Rashad has seen so many incidents of police brutality play out in the news that he is resigned to the fact that the police are never held accountable. However, Rashad knows that his brother will never let this go, so he says nothing.
Analysis
The novel begins with a prologue titled “Zoom In.” It describes in very general terms a man beating up a boy who is laying facedown on the pavement with the sound of sirens in the background. This intro, in poetic and abstract language, foreshadows the interaction in the first chapter between Rashad and the police officer, Paul. All American Boys uses narration to play with point of view. The events of the book take place over the course of a week, and the chapters alternate as each of the two protagonists, Rashad and Quinn, share their points of view about what happens. This allows the authors to explore the same event from two different perspectives, using the form of the novel to explore the theme of perspective and the ways that viewpoint affects what one sees.
As the novel begins, Rashad is leaving ROTC, ready to start his weekend. Rashad is clear that it was not his choice to join ROTC, but he felt pressured by his father to join. Although not his choice originally, he remains dedicated in order to please his father. Rashad’s father used to be in the Army and frequently tells Rashad that the Army is the best opportunity for a Black boy in the U.S. In a flashback, Rashad remembers talking with his father about the Army; the conversation reveals that Rashad’s father is strict, values discipline, and holds strong opinions. Within their relationship, there is little space for Rashad to have his own opinions, so he responds by trying to placate his father.
While Rashad changes out of his ROTC uniform, he and his friends are joking around and talking about their plans for that night. In the bathroom, they’re relaxed and free to be themselves without outside eyes on them. Of his three friends, Shannon and English play basketball, while he and Carlos share an interest in art. Carlos does graffiti, and Rashad remembers all the times he helped Carlos design his tags. His choices, “money-green” letters on a bank or “gold regal letters” on a homeless shelter suggest that Rashad is critically thinking about the world around him and using art as a form of social commentary.
As Rashad makes his way to Jerry’s Corner Market, he imagines that the owner of the store is a wealthy old white man living on the East Side of the city with a young supermodel by his side. Rashad’s characterization of the store owner reveals the economic divisions of Springfield where he lives: Jerry profits off of a business in Rashad’s neighborhood, but would not live there. From the moment Rashad walks into Jerry’s, he’s viewed with suspicion. Rashad’s lack of surprise at seeing the police officer watching over the store suggests that he’s used to a police presence in his neighborhood. When the woman trips over Rashad as he bends down to look for his phone, the police officer and cashier come over to investigate the commotion. Already primed to view Rashad as a suspect, the cashier sees what he wants to see: a young Black teen preparing to slip a bag of chips into his duffle bag. Similarly, Paul sees a white woman on the ground and immediately assumes that Rashad harmed her. Paul’s concern for the white woman is a glaring contrast to the utter lack of concern Paul feels after severely beating up Rashad.
The first chapter introduces the themes of police brutality and the policing of Black lives, which will continue to be explored throughout the novel. As a young Black teenager, Rashad is automatically seen as a criminal and is treated as one, without being given the chance to be heard. The white woman, who could have stepped in to help him, inches away rather than become further involved in the incident. Paul escalates the situation within a matter of seconds: dragging Rashad outside, throwing him on the ground, handcuffing him, and beating him up. The force he uses is completely disproportionate to Rashad’s perceived crime. Paul’s actions betray his racial bias; he views the white woman as someone worthy of protection while he views Rashad, a young Black teenager, as a criminal, and relishes exerting power over Rashad and beating him into submission. Paul taunts Rashad as he beats him, saying, “Need to learn how to respect authority. And I’m gonna teach you.” There’s a ruthlessness to Paul: either he is unaware of his cruelty or he does not care about how badly he has hurt Rashad, who is young and cannot defend himself. Throughout it all, Rashad is confused and terrified.
Chapter Two switches to Quinn’s perspective of that same Friday afternoon. Before Quinn can go out with his friends, he is responsible for getting his younger brother Willy to a family friend's house. Frustrated by his brother’s behavior, Quinn pins Willy down on the couch with his knee on Willy’s back. The action is eerily parallel to what Paul did to Rashad, except here, it’s the harmless play between two brothers. Though often annoyed by his brother, Quinn loves Willy and helps take care of him, especially now that their father has died and their mother works long hours. According to Quinn, his father is viewed as “a saint” in Springfield, a model man who sacrificed his life protecting his country. Quinn chafes under the expectations that he will follow in his father’s footsteps, even as he strives to meet those expectations by being a dutiful son and an All-American boy who excels at basketball and does well in school. He questions what it even means to be “All-American.” By titling the novel All American Boys, the authors invite the reader to question, along with Quinn, what it means to be “All-American” and who qualifies.
Quinn is anxious to meet up with his friends, Guzzo and Dwyer, and escape the responsibility and pressure he feels to live up to his father’s reputation. Like Rashad and his friends, Quinn and his friends are intent on getting drunk and partying. The two groups of friends are acting similarly, but their race impacts what follows. Rashad gets beat up while Quinn witnesses Paul’s abuse of Rashad. Once Quinn realizes who the policeman is, his first instinct is to run and help Paul, but he’s wary about getting involved in “police business” and quickly realizes Paul needs no help. Quinn watches the entire scene play out, unable to look away. When Quinn runs back to his friends, he doesn’t know what happened, but describes the scene to his friends as “fucking ugly,” intrinsically recognizing the violence of what he just witnessed. To see Guzzo’s older brother, who Quinn looks up to, exhibit such rage rattles Quinn.
Rashad wakes up the next day in the hospital, with the word “custody” repeating over and over in his head. The authors’ use of repetition demonstrates how Rashad is still trying to process the events of the previous day, his current situation, and the fact that he’s in police custody. It all feels unreal. Even though he is injured in the hospital, Rashad is treated as a criminal to be guarded, rather than as a victim of police brutality. This juxtaposition leaves Rashad feeling confused, and he struggles to put his thoughts into words when his mother asks what happened. In contrast to his mother’s concern, Rashad’s father doesn’t ask Rashad how he is and expresses only anger at his son’s behavior. That his only response after hearing his son’s version of events is to immediately ask about Rashad’s sagging pants reveals how focused he is on respectability politics. In his eyes, Rashad’s choice to wear sagging pants feeds into negative stereotypes about Black men and assures that society will see him as just another criminal. Rashad felt confident and liked himself in his outfit; his father’s comments are a reminder of another way that society polices Black men.
Rashad feels attacked and betrayed by his father’s insistence on blaming him for what happened. Rashad’s father drilled into his sons’ heads that in interactions with the police they should just do what they are told and never talk back, in order to protect themselves. Yet, despite following his father’s advice, Rashad was not safe. Spoony, Rashad’s older brother, stands in direct contrast to their father. Instead of trying to conform to society’s expectations about how to be “a respectable Black man,” Spoony is unapologetically Black, and his style is inspired by 90s hip-hop culture. He immediately takes Rashad’s side after hearing what happened, furiously yelling, “ I’m so sick of them treating us like we animals. Like we America’s disobedient dogs!” He highlights the inhumanity of society's treatment of Black people. This danger is highlighted again when the doctor comes in to reveal how serious Rashad’s injuries are; in addition to broken bones, he may need surgery due to internal bleeding. Unlike his parents, who are more cautious, Spoony wants to fight against this injustice and defend his brother.
