The Usual Suspects Book Review
Broaddus, Maurice. THE USUAL SUSPECTS. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2019.
ISBN: 978-0062796318
"I'm a little extra. I get that" (p. 223).
Like our main character, Thelonius Mitchell, this book is "a little extra." It's a witty, clever, mid-grade book that deals with issues of ableism, prejudice, and the power differentials between adults and children, wrapped in a gripping mystery told in a hard-driving detective-noir style. The story is narrated in first person by Thelonius with snappy, incisive observations about the people around him. He is part of a "special" class in his middle school. It is a class for students with behavioral, emotional, and physical issues. They get all the blame for the bad things that happen, and, often it's deserved. The book opens with a prank engineered by Theolonius where his freestyle rap is played at the assembly instead of the regular programming. Theolonius likes to use his big brain (his own description) and big feelings that he can't quite control (my description) to prank people. It is with this history, that when a real problem happens: a loaded gun is found in the park right next to the school, Theolonius and his crew in the special class are immediately suspected. There are real consequences for this particular group. If decision-makers decide this group is culpable, they will be sent to a hard-core discipline school that is more like a prison than a school. The adults don't seem to want to look beyond this group, so Theolonius decides to investigate, with help from his friend Nehemiah. As he investigates, Theolonius learns many things about the people at his school and that maybe he can trust more people than just himself and maybe even his big brain doesn't know everything.
Reading excerpt by Maurice Broaddus
Thelonius is a mostly reliable narrator. However, he is a child who doesn't understand the motives of the adults around him. This is what makes this novel shine. He speaks directly to other readers his age, giving his advice and observations, by-passing the adults he doesn't understand. It feels a little subversive: he's speaking kid-to-kid, and you can feel the authenticity and truth of what he's saying. Thelonius has flaws. His cynical world-view causes him to not trust anyone except his mother. This applies even to his friends at school. When his best friend Nehemiah is targeted by the school bully, Kurt, Thelonius doesn't jump in and help. He is paralyzed. He spends a lot of the novel investigating the gun mystery on his own, and only learns to trust his other classmates later. His distrust of the adults who care for him more than he thinks (his principal and his "helper" Mr. Blackmon) makes his life more difficult. Nehemiah, his best friend, has a difficult home life and frequently has spectacular emotional and physical tantrums in the hallways of the school. Sometimes he uses other people's fears in his favor to help Thelonius solve the gun mystery. This friendship is realistic and sweet. They are flawed, and frequent apologies and acceptance of each other help keep the friendship alive. Marcel is a minor character, but her shadow looms large. She is the foil to Theolonius who gets up to hijinks but not truly bad actions. Marcel hides in the margins, presenting a "good student" facade while at the same time running a gangster-like candy business, using a boy named Kutter to instill fear into all the students. As Theolonius says, "I'm smart and I'm tough, but I'm not hood level. I wasn't raised in the streets. Kutter's stone-cold glare, its sheer ruthlessness" (p. 157).
Interview with author Maurice Broaddus
The Usual Suspects is set in a suburb of Indianapolis. The neighborhood and middle school is mostly Black people and other people of color. They are the default. All of the characters are Black. They speak AAVE, but, really, they all speak like characters in a 30s detective novel. It's a fantastic mix. The emphasis in this novel is on the prejudice against the boys in the "special" class. There are snide comments from other teachers about the students in the class. Other students make assumptions and comments about them as well. Even people outside of the school, in the neighborhoods, immediately start blaming them for the gun incident. Because the adults in charge blame these students for all incidents, they are unaware of the true bullying that is happening to the students from Kutter, led by Marcel. They physically hurt students and intimidate them. This blind spot, prejudice, and failure to protect the other students leads directly to the gun incident.
The theme of The Usual Suspects is "handle your business" (p. 79). This is said by several characters throughout the novel. Theolonius's mother tells him to handle his business. By this she means that he needs to learn to control his emotional swings and impulse control and be the best version of himself. He learns that "handling his business" also includes trusting and protecting his crew: the people in his special class. He learns that "handling his business" also means opening up to trusted adults and seeing people for who they are. This is in contrast to Marcel, whose "handling her business" includes physical bullying and intimidation. This is a delightful story. Theolonius says, "Everyone has a gift. My gift is words. I know how to make up a story" (p. 28). He does indeed. Maurice Broaddus tells an authentic, charming, and gripping mystery with heart, using Thelonius's gift for words.
Programming Connection
Students will create then perform a reader's theater script for this book. There are lots of characters and some good actions. Writing the script will help the students understand the story arc and character development.
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