A Summer of Kings

A Summer of Kings, by Han Nolan (2006)

Esther is the eldest child in a well-to-do New York household when she meets King-Roy, the 18-year-old African-American son of her mother's childhood friend. The protagonist, about four years his junior, is clearly in an awkward stage in her development. Much of the story seems to hinge on the uncomfortable tension between Esther and her parents and her nascent fascination with King-Roy and the civil rights movement.

The premise of the story is compelling: during a tumultuous time in history a young white girl struggles against her sheltered upbringing to empathize with people from a different world. However, the book suffers from its inability to make this connection real for the reader. The story is hampered by improbable plot elements such as when Esther is in the middle of Harlem with her two younger siblings looking for King-Roy. These moments require a great suspension of belief yet still manage to pale in comparison to a truly fantastic ending.

It’s clear that Nolan had a good idea with this book, but she fails to convince the reader that Esther could make such a leap from privileged white girl to scholar of one of the more controversial movements of her time. The main character seems both too immature and guarded for this to be possible. In addition, the cast of supporting characters, which consists in large part of borders in Esther’s home, rarely seems to come alive, though one of her characters turns out to be crucial in the development of the story.

Nolan’s book is both well written and interesting as a work of historical fiction. And while it could be that this reviewer is asking too much from a book written for young adults, key events in the account simply seem beyond the bounds of believability. This is not a good trait for a story about such an important era in American history.