Friday, March 18, 2016

Winters, Cat. The Steep & Thorny Way.

Winters, Cat.  The Steep & Thorny Way.    Amulet see Harry Abrams  2016  321p  $17.95  ISBN 978-1-4197-1915-8     hs      Historical fiction  VG-BN

Hanalee, a biracial girl living in a bigoted town, must find a way to balance doing what is right and what is legal as she seeks to avenge her father’s murder and assist an unlikely companion in escaping persecution by the Ku Klux Klan. In the process she must decide who and what is most important in her life, and how far she will go to protect them.

Set against the backdrop of the early twentieth century, Cat Winters’s well-written and thoroughly-researched historical novel discusses several intriguing and horrifying historical reactions to topics that remain contemporary today, including interracial families, homosexuality, bigot
ry, and official corruption.

Things come to a head
, and the resolution will likely surprise readers who are accustomed to things being neatly tied up with a last-minute twist or save.  But the ending is realistic for such a story, and although the town does not collectively reject its discriminatory practices, join hands, and sing “Kumbaya,” it is still hopeful.                  

Summary: Hanalee, a biracial girl living in a bigoted town, must find a way to balance doing what is right and what is legal as she seeks to avenge her father’s murder and assist an unlikely companion in escaping persecution by the Ku Klux Klan.


Interracial families-Fiction, Homosexuality-Fiction, Racism-Fiction                                                                             --Bethany Geleskie

No comments: