This review was originally written in 2007. It was moved from my general blog to my book review blog.
This, on the other hand, is a book that I wish I had bought instead
of gotten from the library. The story is set in 1964 in Jackson,
Mississippi, where the Moxley family has just moved. The father works
for the FBI, protecting black people who are registering to vote. The
main character, Alice Ann, is in 6th grade, in a school that is being
newly integrated. The black girl who joins the class is Reverend
Taylor's daughter, Valerie.
Although this is a work
of fiction, the story feels so real that you have to know that it is
based on real experience (and it is - the author herself moved to
Mississippi during this time frame). This is the way history should be
taught - by reading books like this.
Since Alice was
an "outsider", a Yankee, she has trouble fitting in. She doesn't
understand the Southerners ways and her feelings of loneliness and
vulnerability are all too real. She wants to make friends, so she can't
herself befriend the Negro girl, who, anyway, deliberately avoids any
friendly overtures. Valerie doesn't want to be there either - as much,
if not more, than the white kids (and teachers) who don't want her in
"their" school.
I cried at the end of this one - cried for our inhumanity, our fallibility.
The
cover of the book might be a bit of a turn-off for kids, though. It is
appropriately old-fashioned and well done, but it doesn't look that
appealing.
Highly recommended.
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