The $66 Summer: A Novel of the Segregated South (Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature) - Softcover

Armistead, John

3.59

51 ratings by Goodreads

9781571316639: The $66 Summer: A Novel of the Segregated South (Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1571316639 ISBN 13: 9781571316639

Publisher: Milkweed Editions, 2006

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More than anything else, George Harrington wants a motorcycle. He works in his grandmother's store in Obadiah, Alabama, trying to save enough money for the precious bike. Esther Garrison works at the store, too, trying to earn money for a dream of her own to continue her education. George, Esther, and Esther’s brother Bennett quickly become friends, even though George is white and the Garrisons are black. The three spend their time together sneaking onto Mr. Vorhise’s property to fish and search for outlaw treasure, avoiding his vicious dogs and the strange old woman who seems to stalk them. George, Esther, and Bennett find more than fish on Mr. Vorhise's land they stumble onto chilling evidence that shatters their idyllic summer and the town’s peaceful surface. As the tragic events unfold, George must confront the ugly realities of racism, realities that force him to rethink his priorities. John Armistead’s memorable, carefully drawn characters capture the hope and heartbreak of a turbulent era.

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-A coming-of-age story set in Alabama during the summer of 1955. George, 13, desperately wants a motorcycle, so when he gets the opportunity to work at his grandmother's store in Obadiah (three hours from home), he jumps at it. While living there, he spends time with Bennett and Esther Garrison, who are black. The three friends accidentally discover that the siblings' father, believed to have run off four years earlier, was actually murdered by a local bigot. When the truth is revealed, their house is burned down as a warning not to pursue justice. George's grandmother does not believe in segregation and tries to instill a sense of fairness in her grandson. Her strength enables him to selflessly give the $66 he has earned to Esther so that she can afford to go to the Negro high school in Adamstown. Armistead reveals the nature and cruelty of racism; at the same time, he shows that individuals can reach out to one another in times of need. The characters are made believable by their interactions and increased understanding of one another. Like Christopher Paul Curtis's The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 (Delacorte, 1995), the novel weaves a powerful message into a poignant narrative.
Tracey Ansley, Cary Academy, NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Set in 1955 Alabama, this carefully developed first novel explores a white boy's introduction to the devastating effects of racism. The summer he turns 13, George yearns to earn enough money to buy a motorcycle and ends up staying in Obadiah with his grandmother, earning a dollar a day at her store. There he becomes reacquainted with some of the folks who live near or on his grandmother's land: two "colored" children, Esther and Bennett, whose father, Staple, ran off unexpectedly a few years ago; George's alcoholic, bigoted father's old friend, scary Mr. Vorhise, who raises fighting dogs; and Auntie Hoosilla, a disfigured old woman reputed to be a witch. Although the book is somewhat slow-going at first, introducing the players and establishing their views on race, none of it is superfluous. Stories told to George by friends and relatives provide clues about Staple's unexplained departure, a mystery that gradually becomes the central focus. Armistead's honest dialogue and believable characterizations add resonance to the timeless theme of injustice. The climax, conveying the tragic fate of Esther's and Bennett's father, will leave a searing impression. Ages 8-13. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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