Yankee Girl

By Mary Ann Rodman

Valerie's voice is as sweet as honey. She's the obvious choice to star in the Nativity. But this is Mississippi, 1964, and Valerie is the first black student to attend her school. Alice is torn between standing up for Valerie and being popular with the in-crowd. It takes a tragedy for Alice to find the courage to act. A truly resonant story about racism and doing the right thing, based on the author's own experiences. With internet links to recommended websites about the American Civil Rights Movement.

"A wonderful book about the power of friendship which will appeal to all ages." - School Librarian Journal

• Language: English
• Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Oct 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781409590774

Mary Ann Rodman

MARY ANN RODMAN’s debut novel, Yankee Girl, was chosen as a VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers and an NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. She lives with her family in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Reviews for Yankee Girl

[lydiasbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Highly recommending this to anyone interested in historical fiction, civil liberty and 60s USA issues. Informative, readable with identifiable realistic characters and a good writing style. I found this very interesting but sad. I'll be keeping a lookout for other books about these issues.

[gayldashersmith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had to read it to see why people want to ban it. Yes, it uses the N word a number of times as it is written in the language of the American South in the 60s, but it's mostly about a young girl trying to fit in.

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Alice Moxley moves to Jackson, Mississippi from Chicago, she's stunned at how Negroes are treated. Her father is an FBI agent who's been sent to Mississippi to protect black people who are registering to vote. Soon Alice learns that in order to fit in, you can't be seen as a "Negro-lover". Then Alice learns that her school will be integrated this year. Valerie Taylor, the daughter of an influential black minister, is in her class. And Alice finds herself torn between being part of the popular clique and doing what she knows is right. I only meant to start this book tonight, but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Based on the author's own experiences in Mississippi in the 1960s, this is a very readable story. Alice is a spunky girl trying to find her way in a new school. She doesn't always make the morally right decisions, but by the end of the book she's done what she could to redeem herself.