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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
Did I cry? Yes.
This book was so good. This book is about a young black male on his high school football team. He’s in his senior year and working hard to get recruited by a reputable college. While working hard on the field, his local community is imploding with all of the racial injustice. He’s faced with the difficult decision of trying to figure out whether he should focus on himself and secure his future, or if he should do what he can to fight for what he really believes in and help protect his community. Is it possible for him to do both?
This book was so good. This book is about a young black male on his high school football team. He’s in his senior year and working hard to get recruited by a reputable college. While working hard on the field, his local community is imploding with all of the racial injustice. He’s faced with the difficult decision of trying to figure out whether he should focus on himself and secure his future, or if he should do what he can to fight for what he really believes in and help protect his community. Is it possible for him to do both?
4.5 stars
A bit more sportsball than I prefer to read about but the messages are what is most important. Absolutely loved Ms. J. Love story is unnecessary but there’s definitely been worse.
A bit more sportsball than I prefer to read about but the messages are what is most important. Absolutely loved Ms. J. Love story is unnecessary but there’s definitely been worse.
Really, such an impressive and poignant book.. I hate saying timely for a book because the ideas behind it aren't anything new, but I really feel like this will resonate with teens. It's a little The Hate U Give, a little Dear Martin, a little When You Look Like Us, with a different take. I think maybe it could have done without the romance piece to it, but besides that, really, really good.
Loved this book! Perfect for a book club discussion on social justice. The author did a wonderful job letting the reader inside the main character's head weighing the benefits and sacrifices of being true to one's self, family, friends, team, and community. I received an ARC and plan to put this title on my middle school's summer reading list next year.
Kneel is exactly what I expected from a book about a Black high school football player in Louisiana who kneels during the national anthem after his best friend is falsely accused of starting a fight with a White rival player. Kneel is a compelling novel for our times written from the point of view of a Black male teenager, but there were no surprises. Main character and narrator Rus is impulsive, loyal, and a good son in addition to being a good football player. His parents have scrounged and saved in hopes that Rus will have better opportunities than they had. Before a game with a White high school, two White players provoke a fight, but it’s the two Black players who are blamed and punished.
I feel like I read a lot of books narrated by girls, so it was a nice change to read one narrated by a boy. The book opens with what should be a perfectly normal situation – car problems and a breakdown – that feels terrifying when seen from the point of view of two Black teenagers on the border of the White and Black parts of town. While football is important in the book, there is not a lot of focus on it, so if you aren’t a fan it should not impair your enjoyment and understanding of the book.
I felt a romantic side plot was unnecessary and a bit of a distraction. The ending, while overly optimistic, is a satisfactory one for the reader. In chapter 22, at a rally, a speaker calls out the names of two Black men killed by police. I was surprised that the circumstances were very similar to real life incidents but real names were not used. I wonder what was behind that decision. I found it confusing.
This novel brings together issues of Black Lives Matter, policing, justice, racism, and White silence, along with how social media and video have become so important in spotlighting the truth. The book is very earnest in its desire to convey these issues to the reader. It lacks the maturity and brilliance of The Hate U Give, but readers who enjoyed that book might also like to read Kneel. The last few chapters are the most compelling, with Chapter 29 being the strongest part of the book in my opinion.
Kneel is a good choice for young adults and for public library young adult fiction collections. I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley; it is scheduled to be published on September 14.
I feel like I read a lot of books narrated by girls, so it was a nice change to read one narrated by a boy. The book opens with what should be a perfectly normal situation – car problems and a breakdown – that feels terrifying when seen from the point of view of two Black teenagers on the border of the White and Black parts of town. While football is important in the book, there is not a lot of focus on it, so if you aren’t a fan it should not impair your enjoyment and understanding of the book.
I felt a romantic side plot was unnecessary and a bit of a distraction. The ending, while overly optimistic, is a satisfactory one for the reader. In chapter 22, at a rally, a speaker calls out the names of two Black men killed by police. I was surprised that the circumstances were very similar to real life incidents but real names were not used. I wonder what was behind that decision. I found it confusing.
This novel brings together issues of Black Lives Matter, policing, justice, racism, and White silence, along with how social media and video have become so important in spotlighting the truth. The book is very earnest in its desire to convey these issues to the reader. It lacks the maturity and brilliance of The Hate U Give, but readers who enjoyed that book might also like to read Kneel. The last few chapters are the most compelling, with Chapter 29 being the strongest part of the book in my opinion.
Kneel is a good choice for young adults and for public library young adult fiction collections. I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley; it is scheduled to be published on September 14.
I am not a teenage boy. Nor am I what you might call a fan of sports. Therefore this book got off to a slow start for me. However, by mid-book the story had developed enough into being about something bigger than football. I recognize that to many, including the characters in this book, there is not a lot that's bigger than football. However, once the social justice aspects of this book came into play, I found I could not stop reading (or listening, as I was using the audiobook). This ended up being a great book and it even made me tear up toward the end, which I was not expecting!
Thanks to Netgalley and Inkyard press for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this 9.14.21 release. Amid rising racial tensions in his Louisiana town - and the murder of an innocent Black teen at the hands of a white police officer - high school senior Russell is fed up. Football is his ticket out, but with the cop who pulled the trigger walking free, and aggressions from a rival white team, he finds it harder and harder to just stand by and let things roll off his back. With his best friend and quarterback kicked off the team for alleged aggression he didn’t initiate, Rus makes the decision to kneel during the National Anthem. The ripples that it creates make him a target, and he has to stand up for himself and his dreams. Highly recommended for grades 7+.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this 9.14.21 release. Amid rising racial tensions in his Louisiana town - and the murder of an innocent Black teen at the hands of a white police officer - high school senior Russell is fed up. Football is his ticket out, but with the cop who pulled the trigger walking free, and aggressions from a rival white team, he finds it harder and harder to just stand by and let things roll off his back. With his best friend and quarterback kicked off the team for alleged aggression he didn’t initiate, Rus makes the decision to kneel during the National Anthem. The ripples that it creates make him a target, and he has to stand up for himself and his dreams. Highly recommended for grades 7+.
"Please rise for the national anthem."
Racism. Injustice. Police brutality.
Football might be Russell's only way out of the small town he is living in. His chances of a scholarship are right there in front of him, until he chooses to take a stand... by kneeling.
Now a target for hatred, the future isn't so certain and feels more out of reach than ever.
Buford's story could (and has) happened anywhere in the US. She raises questions about what we fight for, how we fight, and what our responsibility is in our yearning for equity and justice.
Racism. Injustice. Police brutality.
Football might be Russell's only way out of the small town he is living in. His chances of a scholarship are right there in front of him, until he chooses to take a stand... by kneeling.
Now a target for hatred, the future isn't so certain and feels more out of reach than ever.
Buford's story could (and has) happened anywhere in the US. She raises questions about what we fight for, how we fight, and what our responsibility is in our yearning for equity and justice.
there were so many things in the this book that were mentioned then brought up like 200 pages later, or were never mentioned at all and random things just came out of the blue. overall the writing of the book and story was very disjointed. the characters were also just very cliché and didn't really have any personality
Russell Boudreaux is relying on football to get him out of his small town. He is well on his way until he makes a controversial decision that will change everything.
Taking a knee during the national anthem has been a source of controversy over the last few years- a way to peacefully protest the unfair treatment of Black folks by the police has inflamed many in the nation. In Kneel, Rus makes a split-second decision to kneel following the unfair arrest of his best friend. Rus becomes a target for hatred and vitriol and must keep making the tough choice that may end his dreams. Is an attempt to seek justice worth it?
Buford does an excellent job of taking a controversial issue and putting it in terms that young adult readers will identify with and be able to digest in a meaningful way. I highly recommend this book to any reader who is interested in social justice (and really to those who don't think they are).
Taking a knee during the national anthem has been a source of controversy over the last few years- a way to peacefully protest the unfair treatment of Black folks by the police has inflamed many in the nation. In Kneel, Rus makes a split-second decision to kneel following the unfair arrest of his best friend. Rus becomes a target for hatred and vitriol and must keep making the tough choice that may end his dreams. Is an attempt to seek justice worth it?
Buford does an excellent job of taking a controversial issue and putting it in terms that young adult readers will identify with and be able to digest in a meaningful way. I highly recommend this book to any reader who is interested in social justice (and really to those who don't think they are).