“Why don’t you make up your own heroes?”

The end of Jim Crow laws did not mean the end of racism or oppression for Black people. In the mid-20th century, Black actors and characters became more common but were often just used as novelty roles for already-established, Eurocentric storylines. By creating their own stories, Black people can reclaim their heritage and celebrate their own cultures, rather than simply existing within Eurocentric cultures. Cornell learns that there is power and pride in creating his own superhero.

“As long as you two stick together, my memory will live on through you and I’ll never truly be gone.”

Jamal and his cousin Dre have drifted apart in recent years, which their grandfather Big Mac noticed before he died. He tasks them with working together to bring them closer again and remind them of the importance of The Pillars of Family and Friends. The collection promotes ideas of togetherness and solidarity in a world that tries to break people apart.

“He’s not mad or sad around me—just weird. But weird doesn’t feel good.”

Jevon recently came out as gay and has since noticed subtle changes in his father’s behavior. He assumes that his father is unhappy with the news and reacting poorly to it, and it causes him to feel worried and ashamed. Jevon later finds out that his father was not judging him but did not want to make a mistake by saying the wrong thing. Jevon’s story speaks to the importance of open communication in families and the need for young people to feel accepted and understood by their family.

“Dad unleashes his famous grin. It’s like vanilla ice cream melting on warm apple pie—perfect!”

The author uses a simile to compare Jevon’s father’s smile to one of his favorite desserts. Food is used as a motif throughout Jevon’s story to emphasize the pillars of family and friends and to illustrate his family dynamic. Even when Jevon isn’t sure how his father feels about him, he still looks to him with total admiration and respect, and the narrative demonstrates that all he seeks is his father’s admiration in return.

“Gon’ be fly tomorrow. Gon’ put some fresh in that funky hallway. On the first day. A day that counts. Again. And you are ready for it. Again. You, newer than you looked when you were new.”

One of The Joys of Black Boyhood is in the joy of looking “fly.” The perfect outfit brings out a person’s confidence and their personality and makes a statement about who they are. The boy in this story has no name because it is meant to be a story about anyone who has felt the thrill and pride of wearing their best outfit on the first day of school. Though this boy dislikes school, he can at least find joy in what he wears.

“I stare around the glasslike spaceship that’s been transporting us. We’re zooming through a waterfall of starlight in the blackness of space. It’s beautiful; endless wonders and radiant colors that can never be captured in a photo.”

Imagery is used to great effect in “Got Me a Jetpack,” which sees its protagonist being sent into space to live up to his family name. The story draws on the collection’s outer space motif to create a fantastical world, while also including relatable messages and experiences within it. Rodney’s story is also one of trying to make his parents proud, which is one of many sources of the joys of Black boyhood.

“This hoodie is awesome. I start again, running, now flying. This must be what a bird feels like.”

Rodney is compared to a bird as he flies through space with his jetpack and hoodie. The moment is energized and full of intensity, and short sentences are used to emphasize the action sequence taking place. Rodney’s story also shares themes with those of Malcolm and the boy with the fly outfit, both of whom place strong significance on their attire and how it makes them feel.

“She’s in there, but not really.

There aren’t any more dodos

anywhere on Earth.

That’s what I said.”

Dylan’s story of grief and loss is communicated mainly through the metaphor of extinction. He is coming to grips with the knowledge that his mother is gone and will never be coming back, and seeing the dodo bird reminds him of this harsh reality. It also reminds him that the pillars of family and friends are there to get him through this especially challenging time.

“I think of the advice Abuela always gives to Javi:

‘El que a buen árbol se arrima,

Buena sombra la acobija.’

In English this means:

‘The one who gets close to a good tree,

Good shade shelters him.’

I have many good trees:

T, Laila, Dad, Granny, Aunty,

Mr. Nasir, Javi, and Abuela.”

“Extinct” is written in free verse, which creates a flow that extends throughout the entire poem. Dylan turns the things he remembers about his loved ones into poetry so that he can remain close to them and keep their memories alive after they are gone. Dylan also thinks about the pillars of family and friends and all the people who are still in his life.

“I love being like you.”

In the final line of the poem, Dylan realizes that he carries on a part of his mother even after she is gone. He honors her memory and sees her as a hero. He feels proud to be told that he shares some of her qualities.

“Up here, everything is so blue and bright, like Wes imagines Heaven might look like. Wes and Grandpa whirl through the air, but all the earth seems so silent beneath them. It’s almost like…magic.”

Throughout the collection, magic manifests in all sorts of forms, both literally and metaphorically. When Wes gets to fly with Grandpa, there is a feeling of otherworldliness or like Wes has been transported to some other place. He sees this experience as a privilege because he sees Grandpa as a hero. Wes’s grandfather and his effect on Wes are examples of The Impact of Representation on Self-Esteem.

“The colors are so bright.

The planes are so fast.

The clouds are so dark.

The shots are so loud.”

When Wes is in the air with Grandpa, he begins to imagine what it would be like to be flying the plane during the war. The narrative shifts into a state of flow, paralleling Wes’s internal thought processes. In this quote, the prose transitions into a poetic form just long enough to illustrate the sensory overload that a pilot might have experienced while flying during an attack. Each line repeats the previous one, with only the nouns and adjectives changing, as though there is far too much to take in at once.

“I had watched a million video clips of JBS concerts, and the one thing you never saw in the crowd was parents. Especially parents like my dad, who thinks he’s fifteen instead of forty-five. Who thinks dressing up means wearing skinny jeans and retro sneakers. Who likes to dance to both old eighties music and the cool new music that my friends listen to.”

In this moment of foreshadowing, Des reflects on his opinion of adults at concerts and the idea of his father joining him and his brother for the JBS show. Des thinks that it would be completely “uncool” and is hardly even willing to consider it. While at the show, Des meets some older men who are proud to be there with their grandchildren, and he also learns that “coolness” comes from inside. He discovers that he is lucky to have a father who is still so young at heart.

“I’ve never seen a four-sided coin. Guess I got a lot to learn about the In Between.”

Gary the Griot challenges Fort’s thinking by explaining that joy is only one side of a four-sided coin. The other three sides are anger, sadness, and fear. The conversation foreshadows the upcoming story selections, which turn their focus onto fear and anger and how these emotions can unexpectedly propel a person toward joy.

“The machine creaked to a stop before him and dinged, and the doors opened. It was larger and darker than the one he had ridden in earlier.”

Keziah enters an elevator that seems different from the first, suggesting that he is not where he belongs. It turns out that Keziah was exactly where he needed to go because the experience of being transported into space leads to him meeting and making two new friends. It quells his fears about being alone in a new place by taking him to the most extreme possible circumstances.

“Sometimes the best way to get past that fear is to get past yourself.”

After hurting himself and then feeling too scared to make the same leap that his friend did, CJ feels burdened, ashamed, and stuck. To top it off, the pandemic has led to mass shutdowns and social isolation. CJ discovers meaning again when he puts his efforts into helping others during a difficult time, and doing so also gives him the courage to face his fear and try the stairwell.

“The outfit in the sketch used the same purple and red floral pattern on top of a black fabric as the suit he was sewing now. But this sketch depicted a long, flowing train attached right at the waist. It was gorgeous and glamorous. But Malcolm just wasn’t sure if he was ready to take that leap. So he shoved the old sketch out of his mind and focused on his suit.”

Malcolm’s outfit is a symbol of how fully being oneself relates to the joys of Black boyhood. Malcolm plans to come out as nonbinary and designs the perfect outfit for the occasion, but they hesitate to go through with their plan for fear of what others might think. Having the perfect outfit is a motif that runs throughout the collection and speaks to the relationship between appearance and self-esteem and identity. This reinforces the theme of the impact of representation on self-esteem.

“My name is Malcolm Jamal Jennings. Today I am thirteen years old. I am nonbinary. My pronouns going forward are ‘they’ and ‘them.’”

Malcolm announces their identity as a nonbinary person, and it is a significant moment of growth, recognition, and self-acceptance. Following the theme of the pillars of family and friends, Malcolm is also surrounded by loved ones who accept them as they are and commend them on their courage to be themself.

“I take the direct snap from our center, Syd. Team Glitch’s summoner blitzes with her Fuerza. The street ripples with motes of red light. Little creatures with red webbed feet pour out of the ground like giant slimy tadpoles!”

Kash’s story of asking out his first date is also one filled with moment-to-moment action sequences described in vivid detail. The author doesn’t hesitate to use exclamation marks to emphasize amazement, challenging the typical hesitation toward using it in literature. Strong imagery portrays the various Fuerza and how each one empowers the child using it.

“Grief don’t fit all the way right on anybody, at least not today.”

Mikkel looks up to his older cousin Brandon and notices when he is down. After a series of unjust killings in the area, Brandon is overcome with grief. Like several of the other titles in the selection, Brandon and Mikkel discover that the other side of grief is joy, and they discover this through music.

“A perfect song lift you up from wherever you’re at to wherever you need to go. Stirs your marrow up, and wherever you were when you heard it first, it can always take you back there. It ain’t always God, but it’s always holy.”

The power of music to heal and act as a light in the darkness is showcased throughout the collection but is used most literally and directly in Mikkel and Brandon’s story. The ability of a “perfect song” to instill hope can be enough to change the course of a person’s entire life.

“Watching them, I feel a surge of joy like a perfect seventy-seven degree day, like I got the best parts of June on a loop. Sometimes you forget how much you love someone until you see them laugh.”

Sometimes the pillars of family and friends can support a person in unexpected ways. Through watching their mothers dance their grief away, Brandon and Mikkel become inspired to help the rest of the congregation do the same. They decide to write a song that will ignite joy in everyone around them as they go through this dark time together.

“I’d walk over hot coals for you.”

Jay and his best friend, Mia, are growing up and experiencing crushes for the first time. Jay thought that things would always be the same and that they would always be together. Now, he must adjust to the idea of Mia branching out and dating boys. Despite these changes, the two friends promise to stick together and remain each other’s friends for life, reinforcing the theme of the pillars of family and friends.