The Rock and the River
By Kekla Magoon
(Aladdin, Hardcover, 9781416975823, 304pp.)
Publication Date: January 6, 2009
Other Editions of This Title: eBook, Paperback (March 15, 2010)
Categories: Boys / Men, Family - Siblings, Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism
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The Time: 1968
The Place: Chicago
For thirteen-year-old Sam it's not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever.
Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick's bed, he's not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.
Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect chnage without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he's involved in something far more serious -- and more dangerous -- than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?
Kekla Magoon has worked with youth-serving organizations in New York City and Chicago. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and resides in New York City. You can visit Kekla at her website: keklamagoon.com
"An intensely significant story..."-- Sundee T. Frazier, winner of the ALA 2008 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award
"This is an essential story that has been waiting for its time and its teller. A brave and brilliant accomplishment." -- Helen Frost, Printz Honor Award-winning author of Spinning Through the Universe
"Vividly, poignantly, and without compromise, Kekla Magoon takes us to the heart of a world in the messy business of monumental change. The Rock and the River is an extraordinary book that brings unflinchingly to life an extraordinary moment in time." -- Tim Wynne-Jones, author of Rex Zero and the End of the World
"What a rich and passionate debut novel! With both intensity and humor, the story that unfolds is at once riveting, disquieting, and ultimately most satisfying." -- Ellen Levine, Caldecott Honor Award-winning author of Henry's Freedom Box
"This explosive coming-of-age story, taut with tension and protest, propelled me along like the river of its title. Magoon is most certainly a new and serious talent to watch. An intensely significant story of emotional and historical depth that resonates with relevancy for our age." -- Sundee T. Frazier, winner of the ALA 2008 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It
This book is on these lists:
You Really Should Read It! by thebrainlairWillardLibrary's Wish List by WillardLibrary
Clairescott's Wish List by clairescott
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