Yesterday I posted the National Book Awards, but today I want to tell you about one of my favorites of 2008: A THOUSAND NEVER EVERS a novel by Shana Burg. It received a Gold National Parenting Publications Award (NAPPA).
Here’s a summary: “In Kuckachoo, Mississippi, 1963, Addie Ann Pickett worships her brother Elias and follows in his footsteps by attending the black junior high school. But when her careless act leads to her brother's disappearance and possible murder, Addie Ann, Mama, and Uncle Bump struggle with not knowing if he's dead or alive. Then a good deed meant to unite Kuckachoo sets off a chain of explosive events.”
Here are some reviews:
"Told in the first person through the eyes of a perceptive African-American girl living in the deep south during a period of racial tension and social upheaval, this first novel is a gripping page-turner. Without being didactic, the author teaches what it was like to be poor and live under the injustices of segregation."
— Parent’s Choice
"References to significant historical events (Medgar Evers’s assassination, the March on Washington) add authenticity and depth, while Addie’s frank, expertly modulated voice delivers an emotional wallop."
—Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review
If you teach or work as a librarian with sixth, seventh, or eighth grade students, you are not going to want to miss this book!
