Her message long-standing, yet relevant even today. Her plot beautifully told, yet heartbreaking. Brenda Woods’ characters are complex, yet relatable. Woods writes an important story of racism in small town, USA in the aftermath of WWII. Told through the eyes of a child, the reader witnesses the confusion and turmoil present within the country and its citizens when black soldiers, who fought for their country’s freedom, returned home and found that they weren’t celebrated as heroes and that their rights were still unequal. * "True friendships defy age, gender, race, and other obstacles. Another stellar outing from the always-solid Woods.”- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
The word also sets the tone of the town’s postwar racial references and bigotry. The author’s use of the word ‘colored’ isn’t gratuitous-the book’s setting is Birdsong, South Carolina, in 1946. * “If Opie Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show wrote a book about Mayberry’s racism, the voice would be that of Gabriel Haberlin, the 12-year-old white boy who is saved from near tragedy by Meriwether Hunter, a ‘colored’ man. “The story encourages trying to consider situations from other people’s perspectives.”- The Washington Post “Woods casts a much needed spotlight on the history of African-American troops in World War II.”- The New York Times Book Review The South being the way it is, there's no guarantee that the police will help-and Gabriel doesn't know what will happen if Meriwether feels forced to take the law into his own hands. Sadly, danger finds Meriwether, anyway, when his family receives a frightening threat. Meriwether is proud of his service, but has to keep it a secret because talking about it could be dangerous. Gabriel and Meriwether become friends, and Gabriel learns that Meriwether drove a tank in the Army's all-Black 761st Tank Battalion in WWII.
Gabriel's dad hires him with some hesitation, however, anticipating trouble with the other mechanic, who makes no secret of his racist opinions. As a thank you, Gabriel gets him a job at his dad's auto shop. Fortunately, a Black man named Meriwether pushes him out of the way just in time, and fixes his damaged bike. On Gabriel's twelfth birthday, he gets a new bike-and is so excited that he accidentally rides it right into the path of a car.
The Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author tells the moving story of the friendship between a young white boy and a Black WWII veteran who has recently returned to the unwelcoming Jim Crow South.
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