This fictionalized autobiography is a paean to the support that a loving mentor can provide. The main character, Lori, is being raised by her grandparents. Her grandmother offers guidance and stories of past racial injustices and recent improvements; all this helps Lori when she becomes one of the first African American students at a previously all-white high school. Lori is smart and a good student, but she is not welcome and within the first year she is expelled. The local African American community fights for her reinstatement. Although the terms of her readmission are distasteful, Lori understands the lessons her Ma has taught her. The novel focuses on Lori’s growth, but it also contains a warm, rich picture of her family and the African American community in a rural North Carolina county.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.
