Highly recommending this to anyone interested in historical fiction, civil liberty and 60s USA issues. Informative, readable with identifiable realistic characters and a good writing style. I found this very interesting but sad. I'll be keeping a lookout for other books about these issues. ( )

This book had a little bit of everything from racism, to popularity, to the fear a child has when they are forced to move and attend a new school in the South. Alice is forced to move from Chicago to Mississippi because her dad is an FBI agent. Alice tried to get along with the popular girls, but that doesn't work and they won't stop calling her a "Yankee."
Her school accepts two African American students, and Alice attempts to befriend Valerie.

The central message of this book would have to be racism. Every African American is referred to has a "negro" or 'nigra" and they are constantly shots taken about their culture. A big factor in this book is also the KKK which makes several appearances and makes all of the racism/ hate very real. ( )

Personal response:

A view of the South and it's resistance to desegregation through the eyes of a young girl from the North whose father is an FBI agent sent by the President to enforce civil rights by protecting leaders of the movement. A story of seeking friendship, acceptance, and learning courage in the face of real danger. This book hits hard and has lasting effect on the reader.

Cirriculum/programming connections:
An excellent book for list on the history of the civil rights movement; useful for display of Black History Month, desegregation, school integration. ( )

Young girl whose father is in the FBI is sent to the south during the school desegregation. She is the only white child in an all black school.

I had to read it to see why people want to ban it. Yes, it uses the N word a number of times as it is written in the language of the American South in the 60s, but it's mostly about a young girl trying to fit in. ( )