Speed of Light

by Sybil Rosen

A summer of hatred...discovery Eleven-year-old Audrey Ina has lived in the town of Blue Gap all her life, and thinks she knows everyone in it and has nothing to fear. It's 1956, eleven years after Hitler's defeat, and nobody seems to even remember the war -- except for Audrey's Tante Pesel, who survived Auschwitz but is still unable to talk about it. Then one day, someone throws a rock through the window of her father's factory. Is it because he agreed to stand up for the right of a black man to join the police force? Or is it because their family is Jewish? Either way, Audrey Ina soon discovers that her sleepy southern town is full of hatred, fear, and violence beneath its surface, and that she and her family are in danger. Most vulnerable of all is Tante Pesel, whose nightmares seem to be coming true all over again. Will she survive the hatred that threatens to tear the family apart? What can a girl like Audrey do to stand up against injustice?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Jewish, Middle Grade, Read For School, Holocaust, Historical, Young Adult

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

I have always written. From the time I was five and typing poems and stories on my father's old Underwood typewriter, I have been drawn to words. Words took me to the theater first, where I began to learn the art and science of wearing someone else's shoes. In 1979 I began to write plays, an experience I can only describe as "coming home." Since that time I have written short plays, long plays, poetry, essays, theater reviews, narration for documentary films,screenplays, a novel, short stories and a memoir. "Brink of Devotion," a full-length play, was a participant in the Sundance Playwriting Lab in Provo, Utah. A ten-minute play, "Duet for Bear and Dog" was published in the first "Take Ten: A Ten-Minute Play Anthology" by Viking Press and has received over 100 productions world-wide. "Speed of Light," a novel for young adults published by Atheneum (Simon & Schuster), won The Sydney Taylor Award for Older Readers, and was nominated for The Mark Twain Award. It was translated into German and published Verlag Urachhaus. A memoir about life in a tree house with Texas music legend Blaze Foley, "Living in the Woods in a Tree" was published by the University of North Texas Press, #2
in their "Lives of Musicians Series." Searching for memories of Blaze while writing the memoir, I clocked over 30,000 miles on Greyhound buses. "Riding the Dog" is a collection of nine short works of fiction that all take place on the bus. The writing was fed by the people I met, the stories they told me, and events I witnessed that would not let me go.

Reviews

[Thea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unreal! Shows you how life experiences can haunt you even long after they've been over. Also shows how it effects your family. If you're interested in the Holocaust, this is a MUST read.

[Brady Geary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the book Speed of Light was interesting. I liked the focus on racial and religous equality. I didn't understand why the whole speed of light, E=mc2, Einstein, Etc. was in the book, but it provided some interesting information.

[Abigail G · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful and challenging book about racism. To be Jewish in the early 1900's was a challenge and to be black was an equally difficult social position, and this book manages to place both realities soundly together and create an engaging and thought provoking book.

[Joy king · Rating 5 out of 5]

i've read this several times and enjoyed it each time

[Sharla Truelove-Albrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book

[Chava · Rating 5 out of 5]

You would think that a book copyrighted 1999 that takes places in the American South in 1956 would be dated and not so relevant, but this gem could not be more relevant today when hate, racism, and antisemitism that has stayed below the surface can bubble up and explode for any reason.

Audrey Ina Stern is a feisty, red-headed, 12-year-old living in small town Virginia. When her father supports the appointment of a "colored" police officer, the family incurs the wrath of haters. A distant relative that survived Auschwitz lives with Audrey and her family, and the hate and violence stirs her past trauma.

Besides the appeal points of interesting characters, fast pace, and strong sense of place, Rosen has captured the Southern way of speaking. A story of coming-of-age, courage, and learning to see shades of gray remains relevant and important.

[Ejayen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a review. I don't think I can write a review for this book.
I just want to tell the main character that her Tante is super right about her costume and that she should be glad the festivies were cut shor.t

[Chau Anh · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting insight into how children view WW2 back then in the 1990s
an intriguing way of viewing hatred as well
quite good a book for children

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is 1956 in Blue Gap, VA and Audrey Ina’s father thinks a black man ought to be on the town’s police force. Audrey Ina is 12 and just beginning to figure things out, like why her Tante Pesel is so odd – she lived through Auschwitz. This won the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Older Readers.

[Galaxy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no desire to finsh this book. There is no hook, it has a good story, but they don't make it interesting