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.

Wonderdog

Wonderdog, by Inman Majors (2004)

Dev Degraw is the recently divorced and perpetually uninspired son of the governor of the state of Alabama. A child actor in a bad television show, Dev is a man who is both dogged by his past and resigned to a future over which he seems to lack any control.

Though he is a trained attorney, the "young governor" hasn't practiced a case in months. Aside from political favors and appearances for his father Dev does little more than while away his time in Tuscaloosa bars, where he runs rather large tabs. The cast of supporting characters is varied, coming from the bars and from the seat of power in Montgomery among other places.

Told with extreme sarcasm this tale is a laugh-out-loud funny joyride that’s hard to put down. Majors peppers his staccato delivery with contempt for the small and insignificant lives of his extras, yet his protagonist seems to have little going for him but his name. The author brilliantly couples the rudderless Degraw with a larger-than-life supporting cast. The accounts of poets who have an affinity for dairy products and C-list actors who struggle to revive their careers combine to keep the reader caught off guard and frequently laughing.

Like the best tall tales, Majors’ story accomplishes what it sets out to do: make the reader shake his head in disbelief as he eagerly turns the pages. The result is one of the funnier books that this reviewer has read in several years. For fans of the zany and eccentric this one is not to be missed. Highly recommended for adult readers.

One Mississippi

One Mississippi, by Mark Childress (2006)

Just before Daniel Musgrove is to start his junior year his father gets a transfer to a new territory. Ever the company man, the action starts almost immediately when the stern father packs up the family for the trip from Indiana to their new home in the Deep South.

Daniel’s mother is a native of the South and is thrilled to be going back but the kids obviously have a tougher time adjusting. Not only does Daniel have to forgo his place on the varsity wrestling team, he is forced to deal with the profoundly different culture in Mississippi. He endures the jeers of kids on the school bus who taunt him for the way he speaks and looks. He marvels at the poverty that is all around him.

Daniel quickly forms a bond with a non-conventional Southerner, Tim Cousins. The protagonist learns a lot from Tim, including what he absolutely cannot say if he wants to avoid serious trouble. Still, Daniel cannot help but cross some of his schoolmates when he becomes enamored with Arnita, the first black prom queen in the history of the recently integrated high school. Prom night brings a mistake that will make Daniel’s life more complicated even as it pulls him into Arnita’s orbit.

The issue of race relations is probably played up a bit too much in this smart book. Granted, the Deep South was still a tense place in the 1970s, certainly a very different place than Indiana, but the Hoosier State is hardly a haven of progressive thought. (Full disclosure: the reviewer is a native of Indiana.) Even so the contrast makes for a compelling anchor for the story and a tension that keeps the reader interested.

Childress has written a thoughtful and entertaining book that will appeal to many readers ages young adult and up. Highly recommended.