Donte and his brother have recently started at a new mostly white, wealthy school called Middlefield Prep. The middle class brothers are biracial (Black/white), but while Donte presents as Black, Trey presents as white, and Donte's experiences at the school are very different from Trey's. Donte feels alienated at Middlefield, where he often finds himself blamed for things he didn't do and any frustration he expresses is clearly perceived as threat of violence; he's also bullied by a blatantly racist kid named Alan (king of the fencing team), who taunts him by calling him "Black brother." Donte wishes Trey would join the fencing team and beat Alan at his own game. Trey urges Donte to learn to fence instead, and with the help of Black, ex-Olympic fencer Arden Jones, who works at the nearby Boys and Girls Club, Donte does. This hard-to-put-down story follows Donte through fencing training and competitions that inevitably lead to a satisfying showdown with Alan and Middlefield prep. Along the way, it illuminates racism in the sport of fencing, in the justice system (where class issues also come into play), and in schools, with Donte's experience at Middlefield Prep echoing the way assumptions about and perceptions of Black students in schools feed the school-to-prison pipeline. (Ages 10-13)

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition.   Framed. Bullied. Disliked. But I know I can still be the best.

Sometimes, 12-year-old Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, most of the students don't look like him. They don't like him either. Dubbing him "Black Brother," Donte's teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter-skinned brother, Trey.

When he's bullied and framed by the captain of the fencing team, "King" Alan, he's suspended from school and arrested.

Terrified, searching for a place where he belongs, Donte joins a local youth center and meets former Olympic fencer Arden Jones. With Arden's help, he begins training as a competitive fencer, setting his sights on taking down the fencing team captain, no matter what.

As Donte hones his fencing skills and grows closer to achieving his goal, he learns the fight for justice is far from over. Now Donte must confront his bullies, racism, and the corrupt systems of power that led to his arrest.

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.