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Scattergood, Augusta
3 Reviews
(4)
4-6
Shy eleven-year-old Azalea spends the summer of 1952 in Arkansas helping her ailing grandmother. Chinese American Billy Wong moves to town to attend the integrated school and work at his relatives' grocery store. Azalea's conversational prose alternates with Billy's verse as their friendship blossoms. Weak characterization and some heavy-handedness hamper a well-intentioned story. An author's note on Chinese Americans in the South adds value.
Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester
(3)
4-6
In 1974, Theo moves to Destiny, Florida, "the Town Time Forgot," and makes friends with baseball-loving Anabel. At Miss Sister Grandersole's Rest Easy Rooming House and Dance Academy, Theo, whose real name is Thelonius Monk Thomas, continues to develop his piano skills, although his abusive Vietnam-veteran uncle disapproves. Well-developed characters and a charming small town are at the heart of this sweet story.
Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester
(3)
4-6
Glory doesn't understand what's happening in her Mississippi hometown during the "Freedom Summer" of 1964. Difficult and changing relationships with her sister Jesslyn and friend Frankie mirror the swirling upheaval. The hotly debated closing of the segregated community pool both serves as a snapshot of the tumultuous era and illustrates Glory's realizations about the power of her own convictions.
Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum
3 reviews
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