Brenda Woods (1)

What a delightful book! The disaster mentioned is sad and shocking, but it enhances the story and the characters in a positive way. I do love Leah Jean Hopper.

Really excellent story -- love the family, and I really enjoy Wood's writing. This story is particularly good at presenting slavery -- both the daily fear/terror/drudgery/anger and the close relationships that make survival possible. Beautiful family. Really love that they run to the swamp and the protection of the Seminole tribe, which is not as well known of an escape.

Of the Katrina books, I have to say this one is one of my favorites. I love Saint's personality, I love his caring family and his neighborhood and his love of music and the dog. It shares many of the characteristics of other Katrina books -- there's a beloved dog, the kid runs away from his family to save the dog, ends up helping an elderly neighbor, several narrow escapes. What you will not find in here is a tie-in to a conversation about racism, but you will find a solid and engaging story.

Great read -- short chapters, good topic.

From the point of view of 12 year white boy, Gabriel, who uses his influence with his family to help Meriwether Hunter, a "colored" veteran in post WWII small town South Carolina, after Meriwether saves his life. The book does a good job with the complex issues that surround Jim Crow and the beginning of the Great Migration, but the language, which includes a lot of timely historical slang can be a bit hard to follow sometimes.