About this item
A Coretta Scott King Author Honor BookWhen sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white.. In the aftermath of Tariqs death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth.. Tariqs friends, family, and community struggle to make sense of the tragedy, and to cope with the hole left behind when a life is cut short. In their own words, they grapple for a way to say with certainty: This is how it went down.. How It Went Down is a timely story by acclaimed author Kekla Magoon who won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for The Rock and the River, and whose book X :A Novel (written with Ilyasah Shabazz) was longlisted for the National Book Award.. This title has Common Core connections.
About the Author
Kekla Magoon is the author of over a dozen books for young readers, including THE SEASON OF STYX MALONE, THE ROCK AND THE RIVER, HOW IT WENT DOWN, X: A NOVEL (with Ilyasah Shabazz) , and the Robyn Hoodlum Adventures series. She has received an NAACP Image Award, the John Steptoe New Talent Award, two Coretta Scott King Honors, The Walter Award Honor, the In the Margins Award, and been long listed for the National Book Award. She also writes non-fiction on historical topics. Kekla conducts school and library visits nationwide and serves on the Writers' Council for the National Writing Project. Kekla holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she now serves on faculty. Visit her online at www.keklamagoon.com.
