The Rock and the River
Edwards Award Winner (Group YA Author Presentation)
the rock and the river
By Kekla Magoon
Format: 304 pages, Hardcover
Published: January 6, 2009 by Aladdin
ISBN: 9781416975823 (ISBN10: 1416975829)
Book summary from publisher:
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 change 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?
My Thoughts:
This Edwards Award winning novel unflinchingly examines social and historical events and offers new perspective on life for Black Americans throughout the Civil Rights Movement and today. While this book is set in the late Sixties, it is devastatingly relevant to modern America and the injustices still experienced here. The Rock and the River is a deeply moving story that will shake up readers so that they can grow in understanding and compassion. It is a good accompaniment to studies and discussion about the Civil Rights Movement, social justice, and American history.