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Showing posts from November, 2012

"The Lions of Little Rock," by Kristin Levine

I wish everyone who read and enjoyed The Help (by Kathryn Stockett) would pick up a copy of The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. That's how much attention I'd like this book to get. Levine's story takes place in 1958--a year after the events of the Little Rock Nine at Little Rock Central High School. In this book, the main characters are younger but integration is still the theme. At the start of the novel, white Marlee is 13, as is her new friend, Lizzie. Lizzie is attending Marlee's school because she is light-skinned enough to pass for white. She's soon found out, though, and when she must go back to her own school, Marlee is devastated. Marlee is exceptionally shy and hardly ever talks outside of her home, but with Lizzie she found a friend she trusted. Like The Help, The Lions of Little Rock examines how fear and racism intertwine. In The Help , many of the black women were afraid to tell their stories because they didn't want to lose their job