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Sisters in Time #19
Carrie's Courage: Battling the Powers of Bigotry (1923)
Time 1923 For ten-year-old Carrie Moe, friendship with a Jewish immigrant is perfectly normal. So why are many of her other friends uptight about that? Sadly, in 1924, bigotry is a powerful force in society-so much so, that the white-robed members of the Ku Klux Klan plot violence against Jews. Carrie's Courage is the story of a young girl who stands up for a friend in the face of persecution. Using actual historical events as a backdrop, this young readers' novel shows that standing up for others, though not always popular, is always right. It's a perfect teaching tool, at an even better price!
144 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Norma Jean Lutz
110 books23 followersNorma Jean Lutz’s writing career began when she enrolled in a writing correspondence course. Since then, she has had over 250 short stories and articles published in both secular and Christian publications. The full-time writer is also the author of over 50 published books under her own name and many ghostwritten books. Her books have been favorably reviewed in Affair de Coeur, Coffee Time Romance, Romance Reader at Heart, and The Romance Studio magazines, and her short fiction has garnered a number of first prizes in local writing contests.
Norma Jean is the founder of the Professionalism In Writing School, which was held annually in Tulsa for fourteen years. This writers' conference, which closed its doors in 1996, gave many writers their start in the publishing world.
A gifted teacher, Norma Jean has taught a variety of writing courses at local colleges and community schools, and is a frequent speaker at writers' seminars around the country. For eight years, she taught on staff for the Institute of Children's Literature. She has served as artist-in-residence at grade schools, and for two years taught a staff development workshop for language arts teachers in schools in Northeastern Oklahoma.
As co-host for the Tulsa KNYD Road Show, she shared the microphone with Kim Spence to present the Road Show Book Club, a feature presented by the station for more than a year. She has also appeared in numerous interviews on KDOR-TV.
Norma Jean has brought out past out-of-print novels to create a new series. These teen novels (which she likes to call "Clean Teen Reads") were published in the 1980s and 90s, yet the story lines are timeless. Sporting new titles and new book covers, these books will become part of the "Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection" series.
Her newest teen offering is Brought to You By the Color Drab. A story of a young man living in the ghetto who seemingly was born in the wrong place in the wrong time. This is a story of redemption!
Norma Jean is the founder of the Professionalism In Writing School, which was held annually in Tulsa for fourteen years. This writers' conference, which closed its doors in 1996, gave many writers their start in the publishing world.
A gifted teacher, Norma Jean has taught a variety of writing courses at local colleges and community schools, and is a frequent speaker at writers' seminars around the country. For eight years, she taught on staff for the Institute of Children's Literature. She has served as artist-in-residence at grade schools, and for two years taught a staff development workshop for language arts teachers in schools in Northeastern Oklahoma.
As co-host for the Tulsa KNYD Road Show, she shared the microphone with Kim Spence to present the Road Show Book Club, a feature presented by the station for more than a year. She has also appeared in numerous interviews on KDOR-TV.
Norma Jean has brought out past out-of-print novels to create a new series. These teen novels (which she likes to call "Clean Teen Reads") were published in the 1980s and 90s, yet the story lines are timeless. Sporting new titles and new book covers, these books will become part of the "Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection" series.
Her newest teen offering is Brought to You By the Color Drab. A story of a young man living in the ghetto who seemingly was born in the wrong place in the wrong time. This is a story of redemption!
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 1, 2024
I was not aware that the Ku Klux Klan was against more groups of people than African-Americans. Upon further research after reading this book, I discovered the revival of the Klan in 1915 adding Jewish and Catholic immigrants to their hit list. This book addresses the hatred they, and many other members of the general public, had for Jewish people when a Russian-Jewish girl and her uncle move in next door to Carrie Ruhle’s best friend Violet.
Violet’s anger with Carrie and Dvora was a startling reminder of how seriously young kids take it when their best friend makes another friend. It’s kind of crazy to think back at how it felt like the end of the world when a friend of mine made a friend that I thought would steal them away. Maybe that jealousy can never be completely avoided, but I’m relieved my friends and I have matured out of that behaviour. We’re confident enough in ourselves as people to not feel so threatened by other people wanting to be friends with our friends.
I was delighted by the character named Garvey Constable because Garvey is my last name. I never thought I’d hear it as a first name too. Garvey is Carrie’s fun cousin who I greatly appreciated for not only being an overall good person, but also one who was willing to be honest about himself and always apologize after doing wrong. I am proud to share my name with him.
I enjoyed learning about Jewish customs and their religion. I understand a lot of people blame the Jews for killing Jesus, but the connections between Judaism and Christianity are so strong, it does not make sense to me how people can completely ignore our ties, and the validity of their beliefs. This quote below proves why hating the Jews because they ‘killed Jesus’ is completely invalid.
“The truth of the matter is, each one of us killed Jesus. He died for the sins of every man and woman, every girl and boy. He bore our sins for us, so it was our sins that killed him…Of course, we know from reading the Gospels that a group of Jews and Romans plotted together to do the actual killing. But don’t forget there were hundreds of Jews at the same time who followed Jesus, who believed in Him, and who loved Him very much…In fact, it was a handful of Jewish followers who started the church after Jesus’ resurrection…It was God’s choice to have Jesus born into the Jewish bloodline. In my opinion, that means I owe a great deal to Jews. God called them his chosen people, I can do no less.” - Mr. Clausen
Violet’s anger with Carrie and Dvora was a startling reminder of how seriously young kids take it when their best friend makes another friend. It’s kind of crazy to think back at how it felt like the end of the world when a friend of mine made a friend that I thought would steal them away. Maybe that jealousy can never be completely avoided, but I’m relieved my friends and I have matured out of that behaviour. We’re confident enough in ourselves as people to not feel so threatened by other people wanting to be friends with our friends.
I was delighted by the character named Garvey Constable because Garvey is my last name. I never thought I’d hear it as a first name too. Garvey is Carrie’s fun cousin who I greatly appreciated for not only being an overall good person, but also one who was willing to be honest about himself and always apologize after doing wrong. I am proud to share my name with him.
I enjoyed learning about Jewish customs and their religion. I understand a lot of people blame the Jews for killing Jesus, but the connections between Judaism and Christianity are so strong, it does not make sense to me how people can completely ignore our ties, and the validity of their beliefs. This quote below proves why hating the Jews because they ‘killed Jesus’ is completely invalid.
“The truth of the matter is, each one of us killed Jesus. He died for the sins of every man and woman, every girl and boy. He bore our sins for us, so it was our sins that killed him…Of course, we know from reading the Gospels that a group of Jews and Romans plotted together to do the actual killing. But don’t forget there were hundreds of Jews at the same time who followed Jesus, who believed in Him, and who loved Him very much…In fact, it was a handful of Jewish followers who started the church after Jesus’ resurrection…It was God’s choice to have Jesus born into the Jewish bloodline. In my opinion, that means I owe a great deal to Jews. God called them his chosen people, I can do no less.” - Mr. Clausen
December 9, 2019
Pre Teens- Two Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars
Because of the prejudice, this is a harder read than most of the prior books in the series. It’s so terribly sad what those like Dvora went through, but I was glad to see this book have a happier ending. For younger readers, this one might need to be skipped or read with a parent to discuss the topics.
{{Official Content Review to Come.}}
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars
Because of the prejudice, this is a harder read than most of the prior books in the series. It’s so terribly sad what those like Dvora went through, but I was glad to see this book have a happier ending. For younger readers, this one might need to be skipped or read with a parent to discuss the topics.
{{Official Content Review to Come.}}
January 19, 2016
Carrie Ruhle has great fun playing with her friends in the attic. She is at a time though where she realizes that there are some serious things going on in her part of America in 1923.
She decidedly makes a new friend with the Russian girl, Dvora, who lives next door. The big problem that grows bigger every day is the raging members of the Klu Klux Klan. They are threatening Dvora's peaceful little family.
There's another thing too that Carrie wants to do. She wholeheartedly desires to show her piano teacher the truth of God's love. No matter how hard Carrie tries though, Miss Tilden won't accept Him.
Carrie is put into some very tough situations, but her strength is building up inside of her. What will she plan to do?
I completely loved everything in this book. It's one of my favorites in the "Sisters in Time" series!
She decidedly makes a new friend with the Russian girl, Dvora, who lives next door. The big problem that grows bigger every day is the raging members of the Klu Klux Klan. They are threatening Dvora's peaceful little family.
There's another thing too that Carrie wants to do. She wholeheartedly desires to show her piano teacher the truth of God's love. No matter how hard Carrie tries though, Miss Tilden won't accept Him.
Carrie is put into some very tough situations, but her strength is building up inside of her. What will she plan to do?
I completely loved everything in this book. It's one of my favorites in the "Sisters in Time" series!
February 18, 2017
The story centers around the lives of 6 children living in a neighborhood of old, grand houses on a street in Minneapolis in the 1920’s. Two live affluent lives, two are orphans who live with their great aunt and their cousin. The last one is a little Jewish girl, who has already seen much sadness in her life, first when fleeing from her old country of Russia, then losing both parents on the ship to America. The main point of the book is to show how senseless and destructive prejudice can be, compared to the value of having empathy and love for each other. The evil that is shown in the book is overcome when people accept each other, forgive and care for each other. It’s a great little read, written for girls 8-12, and part of a series called “Sisters in Time.”
May 15, 2021
This book is VERY good, and I really enjoyed reading it. It has good values in it, like loving others no matter what their race or religion is, spending time with God and sharing our beliefs about God with others.
Overall, I really recommend this book. It would be a great Sabbath or Christian reading book for kids.
Overall, I really recommend this book. It would be a great Sabbath or Christian reading book for kids.
July 25, 2016
This one was just plain dull...and I usually like historical fiction!
October 30, 2024
These Sisters in Time books were first published and popular in the early 2000s, and I purchased a few as gifts. Now I have a granddaughter and I have started collecting the entire series for her to read when she is older. This particular book, Carrie's Courage, is entertaining, offers the right amount of historical detail, and highlights important issues in place and time. In this case, in 1923 Minneapolis, Carrie befriends a Jewish girl whose family is targeted by the Ku Klux Klan. The issue is handled with sensitivity. Most importantly, as a Christian book, Christian values are displayed throughout in a manner that is easy for readers ages 8-12 to understand. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the others in the series!
July 22, 2008
Very good. Kept me interested!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews