Dear America: With the Might of Angels by Andrea Davis Pinkney (Published by Scholastic, September 1, 2011)Coretta Scott King winner Andrea Davis Pinkney brings her talents to a brand-new Dear America diary about the Civil Rights Movement.
In the fall of 1955, twelve-year-old Dawn Rae Johnson's life turns upside down. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends to go to this new school and to leave the comfort of all that is familiar to face great uncertainty in the school year ahead.
However, not everyone supports integration and much of the town is outraged at the decision. Dawnie must endure the harsh realities of racism firsthand, while continuing to work hard to get a good education and prove she deserves the opportunity. But the backlash against Dawnie's attendance of an all-white school is more than she's prepared for. When her father loses his job as a result, and her little brother is constantly bullied, Dawnie has to wonder if it's worth it. In time, Dawnie learns that the true meaning of justice comes from remaining faithful to the integrity within oneself.
I'm usually not that interested in historical fiction set after World War II, but since this is a new Dear America book, I have to read it!
2 comments:
Wow, this sounds great! Crazy that there hasn't ever been a Dear America set during the Civil Rights movement (at least, none that I can recall).
I was lucky to meet Andrea Pinkney recently at a conference--she's an incredible person (and gorgeous too--she looks like a model!) At the same conference I learned there's another new Dear America coming out from Susan Patron--that one has to do with the Gold Rush! Like you I'm looking forward to both of these.
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