Night on Fire

by Ronald Kidd

Thirteen-year-old Billie Simms doesn't think her hometown of Anniston, Alabama, should be segregated, but few of the town's residents share her opinion. As equality spreads across the country and the Civil Rights Movement gathers momentum, Billie can't help but feel stuck--and helpless--in a stubborn town too set in its ways to realize that the world is passing it by. So when Billie learns that the Freedom Riders, a group of peace activists riding interstate buses to protest segregation, will be traveling through Anniston on their way to Montgomery, she thinks that maybe change is finally coming and her quiet little town will shed itself of its antiquated views. But what starts as a series of angry grumbles soon turns to brutality as Anniston residents show just how deep their racism runs. The Freedom Riders will resume their ride to Montgomery, and Billie is now faced with a choice: stand idly by in silence or take a stand for what she believes in. Through her own decisions and actions and a few unlikely friendships, Billie is about to come to grips with the deep-seated prejudice of those she once thought she knew, and with her own inherent racism that she didn't even know she had.

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

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Ronald Kidd is the author of thirteen novels for young readers, including the highly acclaimed “Night on Fire” and “Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial.” His novels of adventure, comedy, mystery, and American history have received the Children's Choice Award, an Edgar Award nomination, and honors from the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library. He is a two-time O'Neill playwright who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Becky Shaknovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night on Fire is pretty darn amazing. I got this ARC at BookExpo America. When I first started reading, and realized that this piece of historical fiction centered around a white girl, I thought it might be one of those books about how the white girl swoops in and "saves" the black folks. But this wasn't that. Instead, the main character Billie is very real, and honest in a way that few of us can be, even with ourselves. Billie starts out thinking that she's not a racist, but over time she learns that racism is ingrained in her life, her community, her family, herself. As she spends time with her new friend Jarmaine, she learns to see the world through her eyes. However, she has the clarity to realize that she will never truly understand exactly what it feels like to be black, that the best she can do is try to learn more, to open her eyes, to provide support, to stand with her friend. Billie shows us what being a true ally is about. Jarmaine is Billie's maid's daughter. Billie always considered her maid to be a part of the family, but she never gave a moment's thought to her maid's family until Jarmaine confronted her one day. Billie continues to have realizations like this throughout the story- oh, Jarmaine has to take a basket of food on the bus because she isn't welcome at the lunch counter; oh, Jarmaine's family can't afford a car or a bike, so she has to walk everywhere and boy do my feet hurt when I have to walk this long distance with her in my church shoes; oh, Jarmaine can't go to the department store where I shop to pick out a present for her mom... And more and more and more. Billie realizes that her family, and even she herself, has played a role in keeping people like Jarmaine down and writing it off as culture or just the way things are. By just watching and not stepping in to change things, by not speaking up, by idly standing by as her father perpetuates racism, Billie herself is contributing to the racism. To her credit, Billie feels the feelings that these realizations give her- discomfort, maybe shame, and then she moves forward and just tries to be a better person with the new information she has. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all did that? Many people around Billie (and many people today), take those feelings and strike back, whether with mild defensiveness or violence or something in between. By the end of the book, Billie is attuned to microaggressions (things she saw as normal before, or maybe didn't even notice), and she begins to speak up for her beliefs, even when it's scary to do so. What I am taking away from Night on Fire is this: being a good ally is not about me. There are times when I will not know things. I will make mistakes. I will always have more to learn because I will never fully understand. And that's ok. It's completely normal. The best I can do is to try to do better and better next time, and the time after that, and always in the future.
Editing in 2021 to note that the language has changed around allyship from being an ally to acts of allying. I would like to re-read this book now and see if I feel the same way about it or if it does come off as a white savior story to me now that I know more. I will also add that books written by a white person can never, ever take the place of an own voices book.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First reviewed on Literaritea

What It Is: Historical Fiction set in 1960s Anniston, AL

What It’s About: Billie Sims has her eyes opened to the latent prejudice around her when the Freedom Riders’ bus gets mobbed at its stop in Anniston (her home town). She starts to see how she has been [unintentionally] racist towards her family’s maid, particularly as she gets to know Jarmaine, the maid’s daughter. The girls end up sneaking off to ride a bus to Montgomery so they can see the Freedom Riders and Martin Luther King, Jr. in person. That night, they are part of the infamous scene where a mob traps the congregants of First Baptist Church along with the Freedom Riders and MLK.

What Works: This particular event (the mob at the bus in Anniston) doesn’t get a lot of press in the Civil Rights-related works for middle grades, and it’s worth bringing it to our attention. The church members’ demonstrated faith in Montgomery is also notable. Historically, the African American community has often found strength to persevere from their Christian faith, and that doesn’t come through in very many novels. The girls’ trip together was a nice touch, too. Neither of them could have made that trip without the other; both of their races were required for the different situations.

What Doesn’t Work: The writing style is a bit clunky at times, veering into telling instead of showing. This happens a lot in first person narratives, particularly when the author is trying to communicate a particular “message.” Billie’s awareness of her own prejudice feels a little heavy-handed. In addition, I kept thinking of a book like Stella By Starlight or Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in which the main characters are African American instead of white. Seems to me it’s worth hearing that side of the story to balance out these little white “messengers of change.”

What I Think/Recommend: I would very much love to see a middle grades narrative nonfiction piece about these events, and since the author actually had some interviews with Janie Forsyth (a white girl mentioned in the book) and the African American organ player’s son, it seems to me that there’s a good start to such a book. Either way, Night on Fire is a fine addition to a library’s holdings on similar-themed books.

I received this book from Albert Whitman in return for a fair review.

[Brandy Painter · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing in this book is fine. Probably 3 stars for that. The characters are fairly flat and the overall tone didactic, but it's not terrible. I'm just burnt out on all of these books written about the Civil Rights movement from the point of view of white girls whose eyes are opened to the atrocities of segregation by a black friend. There are multiple issues I have with this continued narrative, the biggest one being that it centers a white hero at the center of a black struggle and reduces the ones being suppressed to sidekicks in their own history. I would laugh at the irony of it didn't make me cry. Reading the author's note at the end, I was annoyed even more. Kidd watched a documentary about this and in the face of all that courage and suffering from black people zeroed in on one white girl whose story was the most important to tell from that. What the heck? And then he didn't even stick to historical fact when it came to her. I just can't with that.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is right on the cusp of J fiction and YA. An older reader would probably find it lacking depth, as I did. For the kids in 4th-6th grade (and some 7th and 8th graders) this is a good choice of fiction depicting the civil rights unrest of the early 1960s. My frustration with this book was how didactic it is in some places. Billie realizes very very quickly that she is prejudiced and needs very little motivation to try to change. She's almost an empty character waiting to be filled up with these new opinions and ideas. I felt like I never really got to know her. I think this is what separates it from some of the more sophisticated works that deal with this topic. I couldn't help but compare this book to "The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had," which had an incredibly genuine, nuanced narrator in Dit. Billie just doesn't come across as a particularly interesting child. Brave and curious, sure, but she doesn't stand out to me. I would have liked to know a lot more about Jarmaine--she seemed like a real firecracker.

That being said, this is still a well-researched book that deals with an important and often overlooked time in the South. While the majority of fiction about this era seems to focus on the late 60s, when things really got nutty, this one focuses on the small steps that the Civil Rights movement had to take at the start of the decade. I can see why the Freedom Riders attracted Billie's attention. It's incredible to me that these college students, white and black, were so dedicated to their cause that they put their lives in danger. It's even more incredible, and sickening, that people were willing to beat them (and worse) for the simple act of sitting on a bus together.

Fun fact: Janie Forsyth, who makes a few brief appearances in this book, is a real person, and she really did go out and try to help the Freedom Riders after their bus was attacked in Anniston. The author interviewed her for this book. That is pretty neat!

[Lauren (runningonwords) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another important story for middle aged readers, and done in a way that give enough background to give context, but also not make it sound like a history class.

Jarmaine is one kick-ass chick... I can only hope to raise my daughter as aware and vocal as she is in this novel. Definitely the high light for me.

Billie (the narrator) wasn't my favorite, and I know that's not her fault. The conflicts she goes through with prejudice, privilege, and segregation are authentic, but a lot of what I didn't like of her character because of her upbringing never changed. This, on top of her crush on her best friend just rubbed me the wrong way.

A very enjoyable read, definitely for younger middle school grader; I probably wouldn't recommend to my high schoolers. The

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't highly impressed with this Civil Rights era historical novel for middle graders. It's failings included hard-to-relate-to characters, lack of historical feel (thoughts and feelings that seemed out of place), clunky writing, oddly unmoving descriptions of very horrible events, and a heavy-handedness in its moral points. It was a decent vehicle for teaching historical facts, but didn't really accomplish much more than that.

[Jill Thennes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down!!!! After reading it, I am evaluating how I think about race and how I can support the current situation in our country.

[Ben Ace]

Holy problematic book! By the time I got to about Chapter 25, I was just reading dialogue and skimming paragraphs because I couldn't get myself to keep pretending to care about the story. *sigh* Alright, lots to talk about and call out here. But first order of business, I am adding a disclaimer here that I'm white, so I can't catch every little thing that's wrong in this story. Honestly, the only reason I'm writing so much because it looks like only a couple other people have called anything out in the other reviews here, so I figured someone who could catch a thing or two should write about it. And why was I able to catch how problematic this book is? Is it because I'm that special white person that magically unlearned racism in a couple weeks, like our lovely protagonist, Billie? No! It's because the problems this book has are things that people of color have been complaining about forever. So why is stuff like this still being published? Why are we not listening?

Alrighty, so the most obvious problem here is Billie Sims, the main character, who is a white 13 year old girl from Alabama living through the US civil rights movement. She begins to notice how prevalent racism and prejudice are in her community when the Freedom Riders come to town and decides she doesn't want to sit back and watch anymore, that she wants to become a rider. In summary, Billie Sims is nothing short of a White Savior. The problem with this is that story becomes just a narrative that tells us white people that if we, too, recognize racism and fight against it like Billie does, we can stop feeling bad about our privilege but still believe that we belong on top because we are doing such good things for people of color. Not to mention, it pushes characters like Jarmaine Jones down to nothing but a sidekick when this is her history. This is her story. But it's not really Jarmaine's story, is it? No, it's Billie's. Because although Jarmaine starts out as a strong character, going up onstage at the county spelling bee to protest the fact that students of color were not allowed to participate, Jarmaine loses that fire rather quickly. It seems that as soon as she and Billie start talking to each other after the spelling bee, Jarmaine becomes nothing but the minority character that's kept around to reassure the privileged character that they're doing good.

To give the book one small praise (not that it really deserves it), if you squint and ignore the fact that this is a book about a white girl during the US civil rights movement of the 1960s, it does give readers some good historical information without making it sound like a textbook. Unfortunately, this information is presented in the form of Billie realizing how different life is between white people and people of color, thus causing her to become the white savior that she is.

Now onto more minor things. And by minor, I mean things that are more likely to go under the radar, not things that are supposedly less harmful. The first thing that rubbed me the wrong way was actually not that the protagonist is from the privileged group instead of the marginalized group (because, as all white allies, I'm still learning and there is a lot to learn). It was in the third chapter when Billie describes Lavender, her family's maid as, "a large woman with coffee-colored skin..." I mean, I thought we established that this isn't how you write about skin color, but I guess not. That also wasn't the only incident. Later on in the book, Billie compares her and Jarmaine to a hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream. She says that her mom calls that type of sundae "black and whites", so Billie finds it appropriate to compare herself and her new black friend to this food because of their skin color. *face palm*

Next, there are a few times when Jarmaine tells Billie that she doesn't have to accompany Jarmaine to places or that she doesn't have to sit with Jarmaine on the bus. Based off of the small protest that Jarmaine starts at the county spelling bee, I totally believe that Jarmaine can handle anything. Sure, it's nice to have a friend, but having Billie be that friend just sends the message that people of color are hopeless without white people helping them along, which is not true. And then on the bus ride in Chapter Twenty One, suddenly Jarmaine is so quiet that the security guard can't hear her trying to stand up for herself. Where did that little girl fueled with fire from the spelling bee go? Why does Billie suddenly have to save her? UGH

Something I should've noticed about the cover right away, (but didn't because admittedly, the cover is aesthetically pleasing) is that you can clearly tell that the white girl (Billie) is the one ringing the bell while the girl of color (Jarmaine) just stands there. But how does the bell ringing go down in the book? Well, Jarmaine is the first to ring the bell, but it's only when one of the ladies at the church is simply showing them the bell. Her ringing it is really just for show. When Billie rings the bell it's important, because she's ringing it for the people of color who are victims of violent crimes. She's ringing it for her white friends and family who she believes can learn to be better like she has. She's ringing it for you, Dear Reader, because you, too, can decide to surpass allyship and become a white savior, shouting your voice louder than the people of the marginalized group. I just--Of course, of course! The white character gets the plot altering action in a book about the civil rights movement. It's only 2017, why should we expect different?

tl;dr I think this book could have been great if it were written by an author of color with a protagonist of color. Unfortunately, that's not at all what this book is.

Final thought: *sigh* Okay, I'm done now. Like I said, this is review is nowhere near complete because the lens I see life through is rather limited, but since I saw the problems, I figured I'd point them out. If anyone (particularly those directly affected by this book) has anything to add, please feel free to do so! Now here's my recommendation: pick up a different book, this one is not worth anyone's time.

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[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic novel! While many of the characters are fictional, the events are true, making it all the more powerful and meaningful.

[Kathleen Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, engaging read on Freedom Riders! Love the mix of fact & fiction to bring the story to life!!

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd was a very interesting book. It was a bit difficult to read as it zoomed in on very sensitive topics, in this case, the main topic was segregation. I loved how this book was written. It was very descriptive and addicting. I loved how it zoomed in on a topic I am personally, very passionate about.

I loved how the author was extremely inclusive of all types of characters in the story. I also loved how Billie Sims and Jarmaine Jones went on an adventure together, even though it was unspeakable to do so at the time in their hometown, Anniston (Alabama).

I would recommend this novel to lovers of realistic fiction. I overall loved this story :)

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billie Sims lives in the town of Anniston, Alabama. In her time blacks are segregated from whites. It’s just the way it is and in the 13 years of her life she’d never known any other way. When a bus full of Freedom Riders is attacked in her town she watches as the violence towards the blacks on the bus unfolds. The police, along with her father, did nothing to help. When she meets and befriends her maid’s daughter Jarmaine, her life begins to change.

Billie and Jarmaine get on a bus to Birmingham. They want to see Martin Luther King, Jr speak. On their journey they adjusted to becoming Freedom Riders themselves. As Billie witnesses how blacks are treated, she has realized her own actions and how much segregation there really was and that she had been a part of it. Can Billie continue to stand by and accept this world or will she gain the courage to fight for a right way and better way of life for a people?

Author Ronald Kidd has taken a touchy but yet historical situation and given readers the point of view of a young white girl in the south. Although the story has sensitive parts it is not so harsh that young readers will shy away. This story needs to be told and young readers will be engaged. The story flows well and the characters are relatable. Teachers can utilize this tool as a way to ask and answer questions regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Parents can use this tool as a way of sharing family history and what they were doing during this era if applicable.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Why do people hate each other? If a law is bad, should you break it? How can good people be so cruel?" These are questions Billie Simms, a white girl living in Alabama in 1961, asks herself. Billie hears about a brave group of people called the Freedom Riders who are making a stand by riding in the front of the bus to protest segregation. Much to Billie's surprise and excitement, the Freedom Riders are passing through her town. Many people from her town, including members of the KKK do not feel the same excitement. The riders are greeted with a violent mob. Billie doesn't want to sit idly by, but she isn't sure what she could do to change things. Her parents tell her, "that's just the way it is". Her parent's aren't bad people, necessarily, and Billie is convinced she isn't racist, but when Billie tries to befriend Jarmine, her family maid's daughter, Jarmine open's Billie's mind. The two girls, emboldened by an act of cruel violence in their town, decide they need to take a stand and embark on a trip to join the Freedom Riders. This book is great if you want to learn more about Civil Rights. If you liked Stella By Starlight by Sharon M. Draper because of its strong female character grappling with tough issues like discrimination and equality, or if you liked Under a Painted Sky by Stacy Lee because of its story about two young girls of different races who are on a scary and treacherous adventure, then Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd may be the right pick for you. This book is a 2016-2017 Wildcats Read book.

[Dest · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that the white girl at the center of this story set in 1961 was realistically portrayed as a child who had inherited racist views from her family. It seems like in children's historical fiction, young white American characters are somehow untainted by the culture of white supremacy that surrounds them. This story really examines how you can think you are a good person from a nice family (as Billie does) but be completely blind to what is really going on. Billie slowly wakes up to the injustice that has always surrounded her. I think this is (sadly) relevant to many young white Americans today. We might think everything is hunky-dory, but that's because we live in a bubble of privilege.

So I liked this book a lot. At the same time, I recognize that there are already too many books that center white voices in American history. So while I think this is a good book and that is has the potential to speak to young white readers where they are, it is important to boost books (especially those by African American authors) that center people of color. Do not read this without reading books by the likes of Christopher Paul Curtis, Rita Williams-Garcia, John Lewis, Carole Boston Weatherford, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Jacqueline Woodson, Kekla Magoon, and Walter Dean Myers (and others).

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, Night on Fire, the character Billie Sims is a white girl in a world of prejudice. At first, she doesn’t notice much segregation, but when she looks around, she sees much more. Billie tries to convince herself she is not prejudiced, but, her whole family is. After having an experience that no one could forget, Billie can see the cruelty of the word and wants to change it.

This book is a book about someone trying to overcome segregation and prejudice. Billie tries to overcome this but finds out that almost everyone in her family and town have prejudice. Even so,
she tries to make a change but finds it very hard to make one.
The book has 288 pages and is a good read in my opinion. It doesn’t seem too long because I enjoyed most of the entirety of the book. Sometimes, I wanted to finish the book in a whole day because it seemed that good.

A white girl, Billie Simms lives in Anniston with her family. She lives mostly a normal life until she sees that the owner of a grocery store tells a black customer who accidentally knocked over products to never come back again. She starts delving deeper into the world of prejudice and sees the burning bus as the freedom riders are mistreated. She goes to the First Baptist Church with her
friend Jarmaine. She experiences fear as a mob of people swarm the church.

I think the theme is that even if everything is against you, you should at least try. Billie rung the bell at the church even though everything was against her. She was fighting against the mob and maybe even the world. She tried hard and eventually succeeded in a way.

I think the setting was fitting for the time the characters were in. It doesn’t have anything that modern, like modern phones and other things. It also had most white people be prejudiced and that was realistic. Only a handful of them weren’t that prejudiced like Janie, Billie, and Grant.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy the type of book that makes you excited and wanting to read more, since I got excited like that as well. The book made me want to read the next chapter at a cliffhanger.
I also enjoyed the pictures. Even if there weren’t much, I still liked the pictures on the cover and in the book. The silhouette of the characters in them was very interesting and visually pleasing with the un-outlined fire and other things.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been on my 'To Read' shelf for awhile and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. It's also been on the shelf at my school library sitting there quietly, hoping to be checked out. I don't recommend books I haven't read, so I feel like I've done a disservice to this book, waiting so long to read it. Many of my students loved The Lions of Little Rock, and I'm thrilled to have another civil rights book to recommend. This one is easy to get into, easy to read, and for me, a page turner.

Billie is a 13-year-old white girl living in the deep south during the 60s. The supreme court has outlawed segregation, but the south is resisting. Billie has always been oblivious to it. She loves her black housekeeper like a mother and can't believe she is treated unfairly because of her skin color. Slowly she starts witnessing the injustice. She sees a black man harassed in the grocery store and told not to return. She sees black kids told they can't participate in the Spelling Bee. Then the Freedom Riders come to town and the hatred is beyond anything she's seen. White people mob the bus and set it on fire.

Billie can't remain on the side any longer. She feels a responsibility to stand up for injustice. She and her black friend, Jarmaine, catch a bus to Montgomery to see the Freedom Riders and Martin Luther King. Once again, the mob appears and the National Guard is called in. Billie is scared, but proud to stand up for what's right.

Highly recommend this book to teach kids about segregation and the fight for racial equality.

[ramram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the Civil Rights Movement but with fictional characters. “Night on Fire” by Ronald Kidd, is a book about real events that happened about White people taking being prejudice a little too far. Some characters are real people, like Martin Luther King and Janie.

Do you know about the Civil Rights Movement? If you do, then you might enjoy this book. White people don’t like Black people back in the days. There was one event that showed this hatred. “Night on Fire” is a book that talks all about that one event. The burning of the bus that held the Freedom Riders. Kidd showed that There is a lot of action. Not only did Kidd write about the chains and pipes that White people were holding, but he also wrote about how the Black people were rushing into the First Babpist Church. Kidd also wrote a lot of questions. These questions are very hard to answer in the present, but you would know the answer in the future. For example, most of these questions came from the main character Billie. Am I prejudice? Would I pass it on? Kidd also wrote a lot of wise words, such as “prejudice is like a sickness that can spread and can be passed on”. There was al ot of detail in the book describing everything so that you can vision the setting in your head. For example, there is the Dark Room where Grant prints his photos, the church, and the different buildings.

In the end, I think “Night on Fire”by Ronald Kidd is a very good book for various reasons. 1) Writes a lot of action 2) a lot of questions 3) lots of wise words, and 4) lots of details. I hope you will enjoy the book ao much that you wouldn’t want to place your book down unless it is an emergency.

[Liz Friend · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story: Billie Sims doesn't think her little town of Anniston, Alabama is segregated--until she sees the ugly reality of events in 1961, when a group calling themselves the Freedom Riders de-segregates a Greyhound bus and tries to go from Virginia to New Orleans. Right outside her hometown, the bus is stopped, set on fire, and the riders are nearly killed. Billie knows things need to change--but is she brave enough to stand up herself?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG-13; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (segregation, racial violence, prejudice, civil rights) PG-13; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: Don't let the front cover fool you: this isn't a book for little kids. They should have made the girls look like teens, not like 8-year-olds, because just the cover will limit its appeal to the middle school readers who are in fact the intended target (I'd say grades 5-8). I liked this a lot--Billie doesn't want to think her family or her town is prejudiced, but when she runs up against hard facts, she has to admit the truth. Her journey, juxtaposed against real-life events in 1961 Montgomery, will give kids a close look at the ugliness of prejudice and the price of making a change.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting, insider's view of the freedom riders and what it would be like to realize, growing up in the south, that your family was racist and you're racist-- without knowing it, without ever having thought about it. Billie realizes that her black maid/housekeeper/nanny has a daughter, has a family.
After Billy meets Lavender's daughter Jarmaine and is intrigued and excited about the idea of the freedom riders she decides she wants to take part and not just be a watcher. She realizes that just watching is part of the problem, not to stand up for something. That part, and her struggle to understand her family and her her parents role in this situation was very strong.

Unfortunately this book suffers from being another example of "white person steps in and saves the day" and the fact that Billie (not Jarmaine) rings the bell at the church (which really served no purpose) and the description of the girls running up and down tge stairs and ladder in the church, and seeing Dr. King and wanting to talk to Dr. King and wanting to go outside of the church when clearly there's a mob outside so it's a bad idea--just rang so Disney and false; really weakened the book, I thought.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent middle grade/YA book that I received at BookCon 2016! It’s a story that talks about history into the civil rights movement and a white girl (Billie) befriending a Negro (Jarmaine) coming to realize that the world she knows and the world her new friend knows are two different places. It’s honest enough for kids but in a way they understand.

The story takes place in Alabama and Billie goes with her friend to Montgomery (they both sneak out and take a bus by themselves) to see Dr. Martin Luther King speak. She describes her experience in a Negro church, etc.

Billie had a Negro nanny named Lavender. She has always considered Lavender part of her family but never thought about Lavender’s own family until she meets her daughter. Billie also never considers if Lavender feels she is part of their family.

It is mentioned several times that Lavender tells Billie prejudice is like a disease passed down in a family. Will you be the one to carry it on? Billie thinks about that statement through the story and really has to look inside herself to understand prejudice and racism in the 1960s. A really good book!

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well-written book about an important historical civil rights event that I didn't know much about. I thought that sensitive issues were handled in an age-appropriate manner for the intended audience, and the book was still really interesting to me as an adult. Many of the questions that the protagonists asks herself about her own beliefs and prejudices and questions that we should all ask ourselves on a regular basis, especially in light of the current civil rights issues in America.

One thing that bothered me about the plot was that since it was told in first person, the author sort of had these kids following the historical characters (Martin Luther King, Freedom Riders, etc) around in the climax so the main character could describe what was happening. It wasn't realistic at all.

Other minor complaints: there are a few allusions to a romantic interest by the protagonist that weren't inappropriate, but seemed out of place in the story. Also, there were a couple instances of taking the Lord's name in vain that seemed unnecessary.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and think it would be fabulous as a read-aloud in upper elementary and middle school. Not only does it bring a much lesser known historical event to life (I didn't know about the bus incident with the Freedom Riders in Anniston until reading this book), it also does an amazing job at describing various emotions and reactions to the event, especially in the sense of analyzing what it is like to be a bystander, the realization of how that it also wrong, and the challenges in thinking about how to actually be a part of change. Billie and Jermaine are just wonderful characters - Billie incredibly introspective about the role she is playing as well as insightful about those around her and Jermaine being knowledgeable and confident but also aware of the realities in the world she lives in - and the atrocities of the violent events are not downplayed in any way, but gory details are also not a focus...the book really strikes a great balance between honest and truthful and appropriate for younger readers.

[meepxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

i bought this book blindly almost two years ago, not knowing exactly what it was about. i remember thinking that this might be some sort of fun, cutesy middle grade book.

now that i'm done reading it, i wish i read this sooner. this is not a "fun, cutesy" middle grade book at all. as a poc, this made me feel a lot of things. i felt sad, scared, and enraged as the story unfolded.

i'm not entirely sure if all details are historically accurate (like the ringing if the bell and whatnot), but despite that, i still believe that this is wonderfully written. i think it was wise to present this issue from a perspective of a young girl in her formative years. it shows how it's just so easy to mimic the attitude and beliefs of our parents because we think they hold gospel truth. but billie defied against the odds of her parents, and formed her own beliefs with the help of grant and jarmaine.

this is such a strong book to start the year off, and also a powerful one given with what's going on in the united states and ice.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen year old Billie lives happily in Anniston, Alabama, where her only exposure to black people is her family's full time maid, Lavender. The Civil Rights Movement seems like something that happens somewhere else, until a bus of Freedom Riders heading through town is attacked and destroyed by white adults. Billie watches in silence, but she begins to question her own actions and those of the people she has known all her life. This book is unique in that Billie is so casually full of prejudice that she has simply never thought to question. The reader is as alarmed as she is by her thoughts and feelings, as she finds the strength to stand up for what she slowly realizes is right.

[Emma-Kate Schaake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for younger readers! I could see this in a sixth grade social studies class.

“It’s what I had been taught in a thousand little ways- separate entrances, separate drinking fountains, separate ways of talking to people and looking at them. It had been passed to me, and I had taken it. But today, seeing what happened in my town, I thought of Lavender’s question: would I pass it on?

I thought of what I had learned in history class and realized that Jermaine’s idea of American history must’ve been very different from mine.

Whenever I asked him what his religion was, he always said the same thing: justice.”

[Erin Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read the March trilogy, I was a little skeptical that the story of the Freedom Riders told from a white girl's perspective would be as strong or as engaging for me as the stories from the Jim Crow South written from the perspective of POC. While Billie Simms doesn't grab me the same way that John Lewis and Stella did, and while I remain uncomfortable centering a white girl in this story of the true sacrifice and courage from communities of color, I think this is a good read for white children to start breaking down their privilege.

[Heidi Busch · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important telling of the events surrounding the Freedom Riders in 1961 Alabama. Told from the perspective of Billie, a teenage girl, who lives life in her town without really noticing segregation, because “it’s just the way it’s always been.” Moving through her increasing awareness of how segregated communities don’t always have to stay the same and her growing understanding of the world beyond her community, we as readers also grow in our own knowledge of the events of a few weeks in Alabama. Recommended for upper middle grade and older readers.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautifully told and clear story about the events of May 1961 when the Freedom Riders began riding busses in the South. I was pretty unaware of this event, and I was a MLK buff in jr high. I love that Billie is presented as an oblivious white girl, because virtually her age probably WAS oblivious. You did what your parents said, you believed what they said and what was presented to you. She's no Scout, but she decides she wants to be a person seeking change, and change is hard. Highly recommend this book!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This middle grade book was pretty awesome. Solid historical fiction, focusing on freedom, freedom riders, segregation, and standing up for change. Oh, and hope. Lots and lots of hope - even for our current climate - because the next generation isn’t rooted in “tradition” yet… so maybe change is possible after all.

When the girls meet Dr. Martin Luther King, I have to admit I got the chills. I understand this book is fictional, but I just couldn’t stop picturing how magical that would have been.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot, but I wish that the story had been told from more than Billie's perspective. While I enjoyed Billie as a narrator and character, since this is a Civil Rights story, it seemed like it should have been told from more than a white girl's perspective.

Despite that, I quite enjoyed the story, Billie, and the theme of how people who don't actively help in the face in injustice are allowing the injustice to continue. Overall, I would recommend the book.