Purchase this book:
Bookshop.org Barnes & Noble Amazon

Author: Jaha Nailah Avery

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Editors' Choice
A CCBC Choices Selection
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

★ "Avery's debut is a powerful, necessary work of historical fiction." —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

★ "Avery's debut novel is a powerful, poignant, and unforgettable story." —Booklist (starred)

★ "A stunning debut." —School Library Journal (starred)

★ "Powerful and unflinching." —The Horn Book (starred)

★ "A searing, necessary read." —Shelf Awareness (starred)

In this stunning debut novel, a young girl living in the Jim Crow South finds her voice and the strength to use it.

Jaha Nailah Avery's debut novel is a powerful, unflinching story about a young Black girl in the Jim Crow South who finds the courage to speak up for herself and her community.

Sixteen-year-old Sawyer is one of the few Black students at her high school in 1940s rural Georgia. She's an artist, a reader, and a dreamer. But she's also angry—angry at the injustice she sees every day, angry at the limitations placed on her because of the color of her skin.

When a white student accuses Sawyer of a crime she didn't commit, she's faced with an impossible choice: stay silent and accept the punishment, or speak up and risk everything.

With the help of her family, her community, and her own fierce determination, Sawyer finds her voice and learns that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is tell your truth.