Shawn Shiflett

Last night, I stayed up until 3 in the morning reading Shawn Shiflett's Hey Liberal. I could not go to bed until I read the conclusion of this coming of age story. . Set in 1969 in a school district that was teeming with racial tensions, Shawn's father who was strongly committed to the civil rights movement sends him to a mostly black school. Shawn is thirteen. I kept comparing his experiences to my own. I was twelve and went to summer school in an all black school in Indianapolis in 1958. I got stared at and only made one tentative friend. Shawn's experience, eleven years later was different to an extreme. He had to contend with gangs, race riots and friend who were into drugs.

I kept wondering if Shawn would survive. There is strong language and some violence but it all fit with the story.

I received a finished copy of this book as a win from LibraryThing from the publishers in exchange for a fair book review. My thoughts and feelings are my own.… (altro)