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Summary
Summary
National Book Award winner Kathryn Erskine delivers a powerful story of family, friendship, and race relations in the South.Life will never be the same for Red Porter. He's a kid growing up around black car grease, white fence paint, and the backward attitudes of the folks who live in his hometown, Rocky Gap, Virginia. Red's daddy, his idol, has just died, leaving Red and Mama with some hard decisions and a whole lot of doubt. Should they sell the Porter family business, a gas station, repair shop, and convenience store rolled into one, where the slogan -- "Porter's: We Fix it Right!" -- has been shouting the family's pride for as long as anyone can remember? With Daddy gone, everything's different. Through his friendship with Thomas, Beau, and Miss Georgia, Red starts to see there's a lot more than car motors and rusty fenders that need fixing in his world. When Red discovers the injustices that have been happening in Rocky Gap since before he was born, he's faced with unsettling questions about his family's legacy.
Author Notes
Kathryn Erskine is the acclaimed author of many distinguished novels for young readers, including Mockingbird , winner of the National Book Award; Seeing Red , a Jane Addams Honor Book; The Badger Knight , lauded by Publishers Weekly as a book to "captivate readers"; The Absolute Value of Mike , an Amazon Best Book and ALA Notable Book; and Quaking , an ALA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Kathryn lives and writes in central Virginia, and travels the world to talk about writing and seek out more stories.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the aftermath of the civil rights movement, bigotry still permeates 1972 Stony Gap, Va., the hometown of 12-year-old Frederick "Red" Porter. Red's father was a fair man up until the day he died, and now it's Red's duty to carry on his legacy. There are many wrongs Red would like to make right, like the way a neighbor, Mr. Dunlop, abuses his children. Red would also like to help an elderly African-American neighbor, Miss Georgia, whose family was cheated out of land a century ago. When Red's mother decides they should move to Ohio, Red fears he won't have time to correct these injustices the way his father would have wanted. Although the narrative makes heavy use of early 1970s pop culture references (especially TV shows) to build its setting, National Book Award winner Erskine (Mockingbird) offers powerful images of discrimination practiced in the South. She frankly explores the difficulty in fighting a corrupt system, but also stresses the difference one individual-even a child-can make, providing hope that justice can prevail. Ages 10-14. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
"When your daddy dies, everything changes," says twelve-year-old Red Porter. He hates the idea of moving from his home in (1970s) rural Virginia, but the death of his father has left the family car repair business in limbo, and his mother wants to move them back to her childhood home in Ohio. Red loves his life in Stony Gap and takes great pride in being named for his great-great-granddaddy, Frederick Stewart Porter. Family history becomes central to Red's story, though in school he says he hates history: "How could people get so excited about history? It was all old and gone and you couldn't do anything about it, anyway, so what was the point?" The rest of the novel is Erskine's answer to Red's question, a treatise (often, a heavy-handed one) on the relevance of history. It's a patchwork of a story, weaving in perhaps too many pieces (the death of Emmett Till; a character based on Leon Walter Tillage of Leon's Story; Eliot Wigginton's Foxfire oral history project; and the various legacies of slavery, including the Stony Gap version of the Klan). Red discovers more than he bargained for in his family's past and learns how one family's history affects everyone in his small town. The acknowledgments and author's note detail the author's personal journey. dean schneider (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The year is 1972 and things are changing in tiny Stony Gap, Virginia. There's a For Sale sign in front of 12-year-old Red Porter's house; his daddy has died, and now his mama must sell both the house and their combination garage (Porter's: We Fix It Right) and convenience store (What-U-Want). Worse, she then plans to move the family to Ohio. Red is determined to stop her, but what can one 12-year-old do? When he turns to a local gang for help, he unwittingly finds himself complicit in a case of racial bigotry that leaves his friend Thomas injured and Red riddled with guilt. Meanwhile, school has started, and he has a new teacher whose passion is history. History's boring and stupid, Red protests but it's history that may offer him and his family a way to remain in Stony Gap. In the process of attempting to right a century-old wrong, Red learns the salutary lesson that he can make his own history. Erskine has written a powerful indictment of injustice in all forms and an equally powerful and dramatic demonstration that young people, by taking individual action, can actually change history. This is an important book that deserves the widest possible readership.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-In 1972, Red Porter, 12, is dealing with the recent death of his father. His mother wants to move the family from Stony Gap, Virginia, to Ohio-which would mean that Red and his brother, J, would have to leave everyone and everything they know, including friends, the family convenience and car-repair shops, and their home that is full of memories of their father. Red is also dealing with an estrangement from his African American friend, Thomas, who severs ties with him after someone tries to burn a cross on his grandparents' yard. Red tries many ways to stay in Virginia, from vandalism to getting rid of "For Sale" signs to skipping school to work in the shop and store. He's desperate enough to seek help from his neighbor Darrell's gang, but they won't aid him unless he's initiated into the group. They convince him to burn a cross and even try to get him to beat up Thomas, who they tie up and nearly lynch. Erskine tackles many issues in this novel: death and grieving, racism and race relations, women's rights, physical abuse, and religious and educational bias. By learning through his mistakes and the advice and actions of those around him, Red evolves from an angry, grieving boy to a well-adjusted, helpful big brother who can handle a shameful family legacy.-Adrienne L. Strock, Chicago Public Library (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Big changes are coming to small-town Virginia in 1972. Inheriting not just his great-great-grandfather's name, but his hair color too, 12-year-old Frederick Stewart Porter, aka Red, is grieving his father's recent death. His mother wants to sell the family auto shop and generations-old Porter land to move closer to her relatives in Ohio. Red's plan to thwart the sale becomes waylaid, however, by prejudice and family secrets. In his reflective, first-person narration tinged by references to pop culture of the time, he unknowingly joins a Klan-like group, which alienates him from his black, oncebest friend, Thomas. As Red connects with Thomas' great-grandmother Miss Georgia, he vows to find the land that once held a historic African-American church. His search inadvertently uncovers a mysterious map from the past, his family's involvement in the church's demise and even his namesake's role in a murder. It also raises Red's awareness of racial inequality and the meanings of legacy and family. There's a lot going on, much of it clearly written to convey lessons. Add a teacher who encourages questioning authority, a bitter, generations-long dispute with violent neighbors, and a budding romance, and readers have a borderline didactic novel that raises too many issues with resolutions that are too quick. Still, there's no question the author's heart is in the right place. Erskine redeems many faults with a clear passion for racial justice and hope for change. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
