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, bigotry, 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

Gansworth, Eric. If I Ever Get Out of Here.

Gansworth, Eric.  If I Ever Get Out of Here.    Scholastic/Arthur Levine  2013  358p      ISBN 978-0-545-41730-3    hs      Hardback    VG-BN A  Multicultural fiction

A Tuscarora Indian and the child of a military airman connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles.  “Shoe” is familiar with the challenges of living on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975.  He is comfortable with Native American reservation life: the inside joking, Fireball games, and living conditions.  What he is not prepared for is George Haddonfield, whose military family recently moved to town with the Air Force.  Both Shoe and George are newcomers to the town’s public school.  But while George finds immediate acceptance, Shoe must deal with ethnic slurs and even violence directed at him due to his Native American background.

George has lived abroad and traveled extensively.  In Shoe, he finds a mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, and readily proffers a sincere offer of friendship to the reluctant and lonely boy.  Shoe likes George, but after visiting George’s home, he is acutely aware of the discrepancies in their lifestyles. Shoe’s family is appalled when George wants to visit their home, little more than a shack by comparison.  When George finally does find himself in Shoe’s home, it brings home some sobering realities for him.

Nostalgic and a bit didactic in style, the book’s messages are heavy-handed: prejudice is bad. Bullies are bad.  Friends accept you as you are, not as you’d like to be.  Music is a universal language that overcomes most barriers.  The United States government has yet to improve the lot of the American Indian. 

Despite this drawback, the emotions ring true.  Readers will find themselves urging George to realize that some rules must be broken even as they urge Shoe to stand up for himself.  Middle schools with curriculum focused on bullying will want to add this to their collections.                 

Summary: A Tuscarora Indian and the child of a military airman connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, overcoming their class and race differences to maintain their friendship. 

Friendship-Fiction, Racism-Fiction, Native Americans-Fiction      --Hilary Welliver