I Am Alfonso Jones

* "Illuminating and realistic. The outrage and grief are palpable, and the black-and-white illustrations enforce the gut-punching pull of each character's journey. And as Alfonso meets the historical figures who preceded him, readers will understand the systemic racism that underlies these violent cases."

"We are so fortunate that Tony Medina and his generation have taken on their shoulders the classic responsibilities of telling stories that embrace the hearts and souls of not only the individuals but the neighborhoods. A comic book is no longer something to laugh with but something to learn from. I Am Alfonso Jones is incredibly enlightening."

"In the aftermath of his senseless murder at the hands of a policeman, Alfonso's story powerfully illustrates the value inherent in every human life and the tragedy of loss by all who are impacted."

"Medina, Robinson, and Jennings do for us what the ghosts do for Alfonso in their story. They help us to see. They help us to remember. They help us to understand. A must read."

"Brimming with history and spirituality, I Am Alfonso Jones is a refreshing and necessary exploration into police brutality. With both word and art, Medina and Jennings have breathed new life into this longstanding movement."

"I can't say enough how important, beautiful, heartbreaking, and tremendous a book this is. Read it. Gift it to a young person in your life. Shout it from the rooftops. I Am Alfonso Jones is a crucial part of the conversation and it demands to be heard."

"I Am Alfonso Jones is a wonderful, sad, anger inducing, slice of life and afterlife with a helping of Hamlet sprinkled in for flavor, of a graphic novel. It paints a searing portrait of the emotional heart break and pain at the origins of the Black Lives Matter movement."

"I Am Alfonso Jones is many things—a thoughtful, multi-layered story, a history lesson, and a sobering tale of race and justice in these times. This riveting graphic novel is for young people who deserve a better world and for adults dedicated to helping them achieve it."

"[Medina] preserves a thoughtful perspective and a sense of balanced humanity through Alfonso's loving family and his school cohort, and he staves off suffocating solemnity with a lyrical turn of phrase and insightful allusions to literary ghosts."

"If readers pick up this graphic novel, with its edgy black and white artwork spilling rapidly from one visual genre to the next, looking for a bit of urban grit laced with a few squeaks of outrage, they will find instead an argument that cuts right past the polite give-and-take of community policing issues to the urgency of the Black Lives Matter call for immediate justice without excuses. . . Unapologetic about its anger, this title will resonate with readers for whom "No justice, no peace" is more than a meme."

"No contrived solutions or false sense of closure disrupt the narrative's expanding path as it touches on related issues of poverty and mass incarceration. An appended author's note, information about The Real-Life Ancestors of This Book (e.g., Eleanor Bumpurs, Amadou Diallo), and an Ancestors Wall listing the names, ages, and dates and places of death bring readers back to the real-life victims of police violence and leave them with a concluding call to action."

"There are no pat solutions here, and readers are left to wonder if Alfonso will ever leave the ghost train. . . Painfully important."

"Enlivened by high-voltage sequential artwork from Robinson and Jennings, Medina takes on a host of difficult questions. . . At the story's heart is Alfonso's mother's plea: if the officer's school had taught him more about the world, she mourns, he might have seen Alfonso 'as a teenager... as an American, as a human.'"

"Medina's characterizations are detailed and appealing, using language natural to teens. . . A valuable tool for educating young people about the history of police injustice."