Tag: prejudice

cover of book Half-Truths
Posted in #Giveaway, MG Novels, So Many Good Books, YA Novels

Half-Truths

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Half-Truths (Monarch Books, Monarch Educational Services, 2025) by Carol Baldwin was soooo good!

It’s the early 1950s and 15-year-old Kate Dinsmore wants more than anything to be a journalist. Maybe she can be brave like Horace Carter, the local newspaper editor, and report on the dreadful happenings in her community, like the KKK.

But there’s no way her tobacco-farming family can afford college. Besides her relatives believe women only leave home to get married.

But what if she went to live with her father’s wealthy parents in Charlotte? Might they pay for her schooling? But will a country girl fit in with the city debutantes? And how will she deal with the family secret she discovers?

This is Carol’s debut novel. The publisher has labeled the book Young Adult but mature middle grade readers would enjoy the story as well. Note: Historical language – The terms colored and Negro are used within the story to maintain historical accuracy.

The book is available for preorder on Barnes and Noble. You may watch the book trailer here. Carol is offering a free paperback copy of the book to one of my readers. Comment below by April 15th to be eligible. (Make sure you fill our your email address, so I can contact you.)

Read more about the author here. Read what motivated Carol to write the story here. In the back of the book, Carol lists all the resources she used when creating this historical fiction world.

#giveaway

cover of Outrun the Moon
Posted in So Many Good Books, YA Novels

Outrun the Moon

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Wow! Outrun the Moon (G.P Putnam’s Sons, 2016) by Stacey Lee is an outstanding read. Set in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake, it’s hard to put down. (And such a gorgeous cover.)

Fifteen-year-old Mercy Wong is determined to go to high school at St. Clare’s School for Girls, but who would ever let a Chinese girl in? The Chinese have their own school–never mind that it ends at 8th grade. Her ingenuity and resourcefulness gets Mercy in, but she’s not accepted by her classmates and even many of the staff. Then the whole community is stricken by the earthquake. Mercy, not only survives, but with the help of some classmates makes a difference to many involved in the disaster.

Stacey Lee is a founding member of the We Need Diverse Books movement. Here’s her website. Check out all her books here.

Previously I recommended her The Secret of a Heart Note and I should have recommended the wonderful The Downstairs Girl.

Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Echo

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
ECHO-medal-693x1024Echo (Scholastic Press, 2015) by Pam Muñoz Ryan is a 2016 Newbery Honor book–my vote is for the top award as it is so amazing.
Four stories, four different time periods, different cultures, and a prophecy, a promise and a harmonica are all woven together in an unexpected way. Otto’s story is very short, but it kicks off with mystery when he gets lost in the forest. He must pass the harmonica on at the right time. Over sixty years later we meet Friedrich struggling with hiding his birthmark in a country gone crazy labeling someone like him a defective–welcome to Nazi Germany. He finds and passes on the harmonica. Next we jump two years later to an orphanage for destitute children in Pennsylvania to be with Mike who is trying to make sure he and his little brother stay together . . . somehow. Again, the harmonica plays an important part. Seven years later we meet Ivy in California dealing with prejudice for her Hispanic background and another family’s Japanese heritage. The harmonica comes to her, too.
Each of the three main stories were heart-jerking and so important for kids (and adults) today to hear. I love how the book is resolved. This really is a must read! (It’s also a New York Times bestseller.)
The author is an eclectic writer with books in the following categories: novels, picture books, early readers, and short stories in anthologies. Learn more about her here.

Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Ethan, Suspended

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

ethansuspendedNot only is Ethan, Suspended (Eerdmans, 2007), but author Pamela Ehrenberg keeps the reader in suspense about why he is suspended.
Ethan is sent from Philadelphia to DC to spend the week with the grandparents he barely knows. Then he discovers his grandparents have signed him up for school and bought him school uniforms. Turns out he’s the only white kid in the whole middle school.
I found myself empathizing with this flawed character, worrying about him fitting in at school and what’s going to happen to his family. Definitely a good read.
This is the author’s first published novel. Read about her here where you can check out info on her second novel, Tillmon County Fire, that came out this spring. I’ll be reading it soon . . .