Critics' Opinion:
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Published Jan 2012
304 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Two girls separated by race form an unbreakable bond during the tumultuous integration of Little Rock schools in 1958.
Twelve-year-old Marlee doesn't have many friends until she meets Liz, the new girl at school. Liz is bold and brave, and always knows the right thing to say, especially to Sally, the resident mean girl. Liz even helps Marlee overcome her greatest fear - speaking, which Marlee never does outside her family.
But then Liz is gone, replaced by the rumor that she was a Negro girl passing as white. But Marlee decides that doesn't matter. Liz is her best friend. And to stay friends, Marlee and Liz are willing to take on integration and the dangers their friendship could bring to both their families.
Ages 10+
"Starred Review. This engaging story, with its emphasis on the impact of friendship and on finding one's voice when it is most important to be heard, will no doubt appeal to a broad range of readers and inspire many interesting conversations." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. Successfully weaving historical events with a dynamic personal narrative, Levine... offers a riveting, frequently tense portrait of 1958 Little Rock, Ark." - Publishers Weekly
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
She is a mom and writer in Alexandria, Virginia. After she graduated from Swarthmore College in 1997, Kristin Levine has been everything from an au pair in Austria to a screenwriting instructor in Washington, DC. Her first novel The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had came out in 2009. Her second novel The Lions of Little Rock was published in January 2012.
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