Circle of Fire

American Girl History Mysteries #14

by Evelyn Coleman, Laszlo Kubinyi (Illustrator), Jean-Paul Tibbles (Illustrator)

In 1958, Mendy puts herself in danger when she discovers that the Ku Klux Klan is planning to bomb the Highlander Folk School in order to disrupt a visit from Mendy's hero, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Historical, Young Adult

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Evelyn Coleman is an Edgar Award finalist. She is best known for her many books with American Girl. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Reviews

[Bulk Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me forever to finish.

It wasn’t a bad book, but the conflict took a while to get started. Again, I am annoyed with the parents in this series who believe they are protecting their children by keeping them in the dark. If your daughter is no longer allowed to hang out with her friend, she deserves to know why; otherwise she’s going to rebel. No wonder Mendy doesn’t tell her parents about discovering the KKK in the woods. She’d probably just get whipped for it.

I am impressed with the direction they took this book, however, and I was surprised to find out it was inspired by a real event. I only wish that the mystery itself had been less convenient - it’s impossible that Mendy would be able to figure out who the KKK members were all in one afternoon based on the limited details she had.

I promised myself that I’d take a break on this series once it became difficult to stay engaged, and it appears the time is now. But I will be back!

[Eva B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be quite frank I don’t even know if I consider this middle grade?? If you’re a parent reading this review please know that this book is very intense in its depiction of the racism faced by Mendy and that the book contains multiple uses of the n word with the “hard r” as it were—it’s definitely a level up in content from, say, the Cécile books. That being said, this one had one of those twists that just fully pulled the rug out from under my feet. Having recently read another AG history mystery with a similar premise (girl finds weird stuff in a secret area she visits; proceeds to investigate) I assumed the resolution would be that a homeless person was living there or something.
Instead, it’s a location used by the KKK to hold their rallies, and the plot shifts from Mendy trying to figure out who’s been in her hidden area to trying to unmask the klansmen in her town and stop a bombing. Mendy is a great lead—she’s clever and resilient and I was rooting for her the whole time.

[Little Seal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts off slow, and part of the reason I picked some of the other AG Mysteries to read over this one first. But it really keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end.

As a white person, I will never know the horrors that BIPOC folks have faced and continue to face. I was disgusted reading about how people were treated, even if I knew about it. I wanted to throw up honestly reading this, and this was incredibly tame to what was actually happening.

This book also drops the hard n-r word at least three times. While possibly important historically, I would caution folks who want to be mindful about what language is in a middle-children's book.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evelyn Coleman did it again, exceeding my expectations for a middle-grade historical mystery series about life in America. This book was based on historical events with more precision than other installments. Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Highlander Folk School in 1958, as a committed racial reconciliation advocate. Highlander is a training institute for adults to learn about and practice human rights activism--Rosa Parks studied there four months before remaining in her bus seat in 1955, and it also welcomed MLK and John Lewis. A KKK bomb threat/assassination attempt was averted by the FBI when Roosevelt visited, and Coleman gave young heroine Mendy a role in protecting Roosevelt and the school.

Coleman also based part of the story on a trauma from her own childhood: the loss of a white friend because of racism. Mendy and her friend Jeffrey suffer from societal and parental opinions about their friendship, though they are able to work together by the end of the book. For once, there is an actual mystery and some amateur sleuthing done in this series!

The images of the KKK frighten Mendy, and will likely frighten young readers, too. While this is perhaps reserved for the older end of the middle-grade reader set, it will be a great point of entry for readers to learn more about civil rights activism, the ongoing challenges Black people face in the United States, and the KKK's domestic terrorism. The historical note has some great photographs and names that children could use for researching the topic in more detail.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for young readers who don't know much about growing up in the South in the 1950's. Adults, too, can learn about the Highlander Folk School - a school for organizers attended by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. The story is based on true events: the attempted assassination of Eleanor Roosevelt by the KKK and the author's traumatic childhood experience of being rejected by a white friend because of her race. Coleman creates a strong young protagonist who has the skills and determination of a guerrilla fighter!

[Anne Dart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting way of presenting activities of the KKK. I lived during those times. I like the way Coleman has fictionalized historical events. Since this was primarily a story of a 12-year-old black girl and a 14-year-old white boy, this would be an excellent book for middle school (7th-9th grades) to learn about the destructive forces of the KKK 60 years ago. The author's explanation at the end of the book adds insight.

[Kristi Clemow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the story but missed the child-appropriate mystery in this one like in others. While I think the topic is important, this particular story was a little too intense I think for children - and not sure I like putting children in the middle of such a violent situation. Overall though, the story was well told - and I love Eleanor Roosevelt.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to get into, but a good ending.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good YA fiction book that dealt with real issues of racism. In 1958, 12 year old Mendy takes on the KKK to save Eleanor Roosevelt from a planned bombing.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt out of place when compared to the rest of the series, and is a bit emotionally heavy for the target audience.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read an American Girl History Mystery I didn't enjoy. Each book in this series, while fictional, draws upon real historical moments making them accessible for a younger audience or great reads for adult lazy afternoons. Obviously the latter for me.

Circle of Fire is one of the more recent histories, taking place in the late 1950s, and centers around an upsurge of KKK activity in Tennessee. Once I started reading I could not put it down until I finished. Mendy is a captivating protagonist and I had to know how her story ended.

I didn't realize initially this would be the plot as the back cover is vague about the conflict within and I didn't catch on to the clever title until 1/3 of the way through the book. Additionally, I liked the way the Coleman wrote the book of having you, the reader, learn with Mendy what the KKK is and its influence on her community. Coleman also weaves in other African narratives such as oral traditions and mid-wives.

If you've never read an American Girl History Mystery, please pick one up. I promise you'll learn something new with each book you read.

[Your Common House Bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read any of the American Girl books. Kinda wanted to take a trip down memory lane. I enjoyed this one as much as I did as a kid. I really liked the dynamic between Mendy and Jeffery. They had a very touching friendship. I also liked the descriptions Coleman gave of the forest especially at night. The moral of the story was also really beautiful. I think people these days need to get back to that.

[ashley✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a powerful book for young readers. At no point does it shy away from the horrors of the Jim Crow era and at times was even shocking for me as an adult reader. I think books like these are important especially nowadays as we face the ever growing monster of a hatred and bigotry, to feel young Mendy's pain and confusion when faced with such evil as she simply just tries to live her life. I'm very glad I picked this up.

[Taylor Hutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part of a series that I would've devoured if I had grown up in the US instead of the UK. I loved the main character, Mendy, as she was brave, resilient and resourceful. I will say that this book has a very brutal portrayal of racism for a middle grade novel but it's gold to not shy away from how dark American history is. I will be trying to find more books in this series.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Excellent. Thrilling. Had to take breaks becuase some things were very dark and hard to take. Extremely realistic story, well written. Hate has no home here.

[Sophie Spruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking a star off for some pretty significant plot holes and abrupt ending. Still a good read. I enjoyed this one more than The Dark Tower.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 14th book in the History Mysteries series and is based on a real event, a planned attempt by some KKK members to blow up a school that Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady, was going to make a speech at. This was the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee on June 17, 1958. She had been making speeches in various places against racism, and the KKK members decided they were going to bomb the school where she was speaking. It turned out there was an F.B.I. informant in their midst, though, and the Klan learned that the F.B.I. knew what was being planned so they apparently abandoned their attempt to kill the former First Lady.

Thus, there's a historical underpinning to the events in the story. The two main characters, those of Mendy, a young black girl, and Jeffrey, a young white boy, are fictional, but are used to tell the story of the type of hatred that existed at the time (and still does today, although in lesser numbers). Mendy learns that men are meeting in an area of the forest she has considered her own special area. They are violent men and when she sets a trap to try and make them leave they react by killing a tame rabbit she had taken care of for a time.

The situation gets worse as she spies on them and learns that they are planning to blow up the school. Her father is ill and away, and her mother has gone to be with him. The sheriff is in cahoots with the KKK members, so the only person she can turn to for help is Jeffrey who has been banned from ever having anything to do with Mendy again, this due to the fact that he is white and she is black.

The sheer evilness of the men is shown as well and carefully as it can be in a book for younger readers. The strength of the racial hatred is also shown, and how it can even reach into those in "official" positions, or even to one's own parents. It's a much, much darker type of story than the non-mystery American Girl stories, but it's also a very important story, especially since the type of hatred that is discussed in the book still occurs today, although the target of that hate may not always be blacks but can be people who are gay, lesbians, people of Arab descent, people who follow a different spiritual path, etc.

The book does show that it's up to individual people to do whatever they can to work against such hatred and that, in time, they will succeed.

[Rebecca]

It has been a few years since I have even read a History Mystery. This was the first one I read and it was definitely my favorite. I read it in two days and looked up information on the event afterwards. I remember I kept talking to all my friends about it. I read a lot of books when I was younger (still do) but this one really stands out in my mind.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story set in the South during the time of Civil Rights and the KKK. A girl finds evil in the clearing that had been her refuge, and takes on the challenge of stopping it all by herself. Enthralling and scary, with a very clever girl as the heroine. Really liked this one. :)

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book in the American Girl History Mystery series! I really enjoyed this one! This one is perhaps another of my favorites in this series. The story was well-written and kept me guessing, and I was intrigued the whole time. This was a great read!

[Fayth Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just took a trip down memory lane today. You know the stories that stick with you forever but you don't remember what book they're from??
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE.
Nostalgic flashbacks from every cover. I miss my childhood; I could read whenever I wanted. *sigh*

[Elevetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was all right. 9+.

[Jerzi McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey do you read the book

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I read all by myself without my mum. It is wonderful, educational, and all in all such a great memory !