The Lions of Little Rock

The Lions of Little Rock

by Kristin Levine

Two girls separated by race form an unbreakable bond during the tumultuous integration of Little Rock schools in 1958.

Twelve-year-old Marlee doesn't have many friends until she meets Liz, the new girl at school. Liz is bold and brave, and always knows the right thing to say, especially to Sally, the resident mean girl. Liz even helps Marlee overcome her greatest fear - speaking, which Marlee never does outside her family.

But then Liz is gone, replaced by the rumor that she was a Negro girl passing as white. But Marlee decides that doesn't matter. Liz is her best friend. And to stay friends, Marlee and Liz are willing to take on integration and the dangers their friendship could bring to both their families. (description from Amazon.com)

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This was a book I would never have picked up on my own, but boy am I glad that I read it! This book talks about the time after the integration of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had no idea that the year after "The Little Rock Nine" faced such a hardship attending school that the town's government decided to actually close some of the schools so that they would not have to deal with the integration issue. It seems to be a part of that story that has hardly been told...

Levine tackles the story in an indirect and captivating way. The main character, Marlee, has an older sister that was attending the high school, but now is only offered correspondance courses for school since they shut hers down.  Marlee goes to the middle school, which is still open, but has to deal with issues of her own.  She is a shy, shy girl who hardly even speaks in school and it's not until she meets Liz that she learns to come out of her shell.

The problems?  Well, it turns out that Liz is African-American, but her skin is so light that she was "passing" as white so that she could attend Marlee's school. When the truth comes out, Liz is expelled from the school and even worse, her family is threatened because they were "trying to be above their station."  One of the boys that had tormented Marlee has an older brother that is making life both miserable and unsafe for the girls now.  All Marlee wants to do is find a way to keep her best friend, but she's not sure how on earth she'll be able to do that! 

This book touched my heart.  It made me cry and it made me want to learn more about this time in Little Rock's history.  It is a book definitely worth reading!

Memento Nora

Memento Nora
by Angie Smibert

In the future, it doesn't pay to remember.

In Nora's world you don't have to put up with nightmares. Nora goes with her mother to TFC--a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic. There, she can describe her horrible memory and take the pill that will erase it. But at TFC, a chance encounter with a mysterious guy changes Nora's life. She doesn't take the pill. And when Nora learns the memory her mother has chosen to forget, she realizes that someone needs to remember. With newfound friends Micah and Winter, Nora makes a comic book of their memories called Memento. It's an instant hit, but it sets off a dangerous chain of events. Will Nora, Micah, and Winter be forced to take the Big Pill that will erase their memories forever? (description from Amazon.com)

Short. Succinct. Intriguing. Well Done!

Though this book was smaller than I'd imagined, (which originally made me nervous) Smibert packs a ton of punch into this little book. The world is close enough to our own, that once the TFC centers were described and you understood that taking pills made you forget...well, whatever...you were pretty much all set. So simple, and yet so freaking scary. This is the type of book that seems utterly plausible. Both terrifying and absorbing.

With short chapters that jump between the three main characters' points of view, you had to pay attention to who was speaking and how things all played into the larger picture...and yet, that was not at all hard to do. Each character felt distinct and had their own easily discernable motives for their part in creating Memento.

While I loved each character, what struck me even more once I'd finished the book was the adults around them, in their lives. For the adults play a much stronger role in this story than you would originally think.
*spoilers ahead*

When each teen forgets the existence of Memento, it is the adults in their lives that continue the story. Even if Nora, Micah, and Winter never even realize it.
*Spoilers end*

Each teen greatly influences the adults around them...inspiring them to solve their own issues, to stand up for what they believe in, to truly see the others around them. I found inspiration in that. In today's world where we've become self-absorbed, it is rare for an adult to admit that another adult has greatly influenced them...let alone a teen. Too often they get written off...

Kudos to a fantastic debut by Angie Smibert.

2011 Debut Author Challenge