Black Brother, Black Brother
Jewell Parker Rhodes tells the story of Donte and his older brother Trey, two biracial boys at a mostly white prep school. Trey, who is lighter-skinned, blends in, while Donte, who is darker, is singled out, punished, and pushed toward trouble by teachers and a bully who happens to be a champion fencer. After a humiliating incident, Donte decides to take up fencing himself, training with a former Olympian so he can beat his tormentor at his own game. Along the way he learns about discipline, anger, and the quiet ways prejudice works. Written for middle-grade readers, the book handles the school-to-prison pipeline and colorism with honesty while keeping a fast, hopeful sports story at its center. It is the kind of book that opens hard conversations without lecturing.
What you might want to know about Black Brother, Black Brother
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Two biracial brothers are treated very differently because of their skin tone, and the darker-skinned one takes up fencing to fight back against the bias around him.
Stephen Curry selected it for his Underrated Book Club, which spotlights stories and authors he feels have been overlooked.
Black Brother, Black Brother was written by Jewell Parker Rhodes, published in 2020 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Black Brother, Black Brother is 240 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Black Brother, Black Brother takes most readers 4 to 5 hours to finish.
Black Brother, Black Brother is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.