Overview

Author of the Newbery Honor book Crown- An Ode to the Fresh Cut and National Book Award finalist Victory. Stand!, Derrick Barnes tackles timely issues of race and prejudice in this powerful, nuanced middle grade novel about an accomplished Black boy who strives to be seen as human. All eyes in the small town of Great Mountain, Mississippi, have been on Henson Blayze since he first showed star power in youth football. Now a thirteen-year-old phenom playing his first varsity game, he stuns the crowd with his sheer talent and drive. Knowing they're seeing a national legend in the making, the townsfolk couldn't be prouder of their future hometown hero. Until his nine-year-old fan Menka is chased by cops for playing with a toy bow and arrow. Until they attack Menka so badly that he must stay in the hospital indefinitely. Until Henson speaks out about injustice and change. Until he refuses to play football again before the officers are charged. Until his words remind people that he's Black. In that moment, Henson divides his town into two chaotic sides when all he wants is justice for Menka. Even his best friends and his father can't see eye to eye with him. When he is told to return to football and its certain path to sports stardom, Henson struggles with his own warring thoughts. Can a Black boy ever truly be a hero in America?

Full Product Details

9781984836755

Table of Contents

Reviews

""You've never read a book like this. Derrick Barnes takes all forms of storytelling available to him­—allegory, folktales, and classics—to weave a novel that is empowered, empowering, and incredibly human. You won't be the same after reading it."" —Erin Entrada Kelly, two-time winner of the Newbery Medal “With humor, honesty and a touch of magic, Derrick Barnes gives a powerfully told tale of self discovery and community, a delightful ode to boyhood, manhood, sonhood, fatherhood and the blues.” —Sabaa Tahir, National Book Award-winning author of All My Rage ""Derrick Barnes has been one of greatest writers in the nation for a while, but this book cements him as one of the most genius storytellers the world has ever witnessed. The skill, mystery, and propelling prose here are absolutely once in a generation."" —Kiese Laymon, Carnegie Medal-winning author of Heavy: An American Memoir

Author Information

Derrick Barnes is a National Book Award Finalist for his graphic novel Victory. Stand!-Raising My Fist For Justice, which also won the YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award, and a Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning picture book Crown- An Ode to the Fresh Cut which received a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers. Derrick is also the creator of the New York Times bestselling companion picture books, The King of Kindergarten and The Queen of Kindergarten. He is a native of Kansas City, MO, but currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his enchanting wife, Dr. Tinka Barnes, and their four sons, the Mighty Barnes Brothers.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available