3.5
The Rock and the River
ByPublisher Description
Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award winner
In this “taut, eloquent first novel” (Booklist, starred review), a young Black boy wrestles with conflicting notions of revolution and family loyalty as he becomes involved with the Black Panthers in 1968 Chicago.
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?
In this “taut, eloquent first novel” (Booklist, starred review), a young Black boy wrestles with conflicting notions of revolution and family loyalty as he becomes involved with the Black Panthers in 1968 Chicago.
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?
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Rock and the River Reviews
3.5
Sadie
Created 5 months agoShare
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Benjamin Burling
Created 7 months agoShare
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“Probably a 3.5, not a 3, but Goodreads hates half stars. This was a book we read as a class for our 8th grade Reading Language Arts class this year. While at times it felt slow paced, I think some of it felt that way due to the time it takes to read a novel with a class of middle schoolers. Overall, it was a powerful story that sparked some engaging and enlightening conversations with our 8th graders. Learning about the Civil Rights Movement in Social Studies class is one thing, but reading a story from the perspective of someone smack-dab in the middle of it was an entirely different learning experience for them.”
Ava Reed
Created 10 months agoShare
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Abigail McNamara
Created over 1 year agoShare
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Hannah Arulraj
Created over 1 year agoShare
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About Kekla Magoon
Kekla Magoon has worked with youth-serving nonprofit organizations in New York City and Chicago. She holds an MFA in writing for children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and her first novel, The Rock and the River, won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent. She resides in New York City and you can visit her at KeklaMagoon.com.
Other books by Kekla Magoon
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