Lions in the Way

by Bella Rodman

Juvenile fiction based on the beginnings of school integration in the south.

238 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Nell Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirkus gave it a good review in 1966 although it is dated somewhat with language, it's very interesting to read with the flavor of the time. I would like to know more about the author, but I'm having a bit of trouble finding information about her, she only wrote two books. She was a social worker working during the crash of 29. It says on the inside cover of the book who then worked several different jobs, including one at a newspaper. As Kitkus said it's a documentary style fiction tale but I like about it is that the characters seem real and it doesn't have that feeling of the Pat happy ending although it ends well for the situation of the time it doesn't end of the believe that there won't be more hard times ahead. It also doesn't end with any kind of bow on the top of the present as if all people would just be getting along after the tension passed. The portrayal's are real, and not all things can be mended.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially, as I began reading this book, I felt the pace of the book prodded along too slowly. As I approached midway through it, the pace seem to accelerate to a level where I became more interested in what I was reading. The themes (race, poverty, education, equal opportunity, and passivism) in the book are relevant to what is currently happening in the world today. The old adage`"the more things change, the more they stay the same" I believe rings true more so now than ever before where this book is concerned. These things still exist and will forever more if some people continue to hold on to past beliefs and customs and teach their children that the color of a person's skin makes him inferior to another race.