Written by: Ouida Sebestyen
First line: Old Bullet had guessed they were going somewhere—Lena's folks—before they came out the door.
Why you should read this book: Lena is probably the smartest kid in school, but she's keenly aware that being the only Black family in town means that some people are going to have a problem with her success, even though her papa moved them from the deep south specifically for the better opportunities he thinks await the family out west. Papa is a "turn the other cheek" sort of guy, but Lena doesn't understand why she has to be the one to suffer and sacrifice for the pleasure of wealthy white people or the pettiness of poor ones. The world isn't fair, but Lena has her father's beliefs to guide her as she makes choices about how to live and what kind of person to be.
Why you shouldn't read this book: To be frank, while I get that the author is intent on making a point about Christian forgiveness, I think this is a pretty rough way to get there, and the fact that the author appears to be a white woman whose thesis is that young Black girls need to forgive unforgivably racist horror (literally by protecting criminal white people from the consequences of their actions) doesn't exactly sit well with me.
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