Mississippi Sissy

Mississippi Sissy, by Kevin Sessums (2007)

Sessums writes his extraordinary personal story of growing up in the Deep South in the 1960s and 1970s. The author loses both of his parents at an early age and ends up in the care of his grandparents, who struggle to raise a young man who seems to have so little in common with those around him.

The author’s father is a star athlete, which puts greater strain on the effeminate Kevin. One of Sessums’ earliest memories is of one of his father’s coaching assistants making snide remarks about him in the locker room after a game. It is the boy’s mother who encourages him to embrace who he truly is and to not worry about the frequent name calling to which he is subjected.

Compounding Sessums’ struggles to find himself are some disturbing encounters with men who take advantage of the boy. The author is victimized by a prominent pastor and, on another occasion, by another man in a public restroom. Young Kevin struggles with what it means to love and be loved, in addition to the hardship of being a gay person in a society that is anything but supportive of the concept.

One of the more interesting aspects of the book is Sessums’ association with Eudora Welty and her circle of friends in Jackson. The young man finds strength and support from this group, especially from doomed cultural critic Frank Hains.

The author spares few details in describing some of his early sexual experiences, which may make for challenging reading, but Sessums' story is often moving and hard to put down. 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.

An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (2006)

Colin Singleton is a high school graduate for only a day when his girlfriend, Katherine, dumps him. Wallowing in self-pity, Colin becomes obsessed with what went wrong. But rather than concentrating on his own character, he channels his energy into constructing a formula that will predict what people will be dumpers and dumpees. Perhaps he’s concerned because he’s just been dumped for the 19^th time, all by girls named Katherine.

The protagonist doesn’t have too much time to retreat into himself before his Lebanese sidekick, Hassan, appears and proposes a road trip. The two confer with skeptical parents and are quickly off in Colin’s car. They have no idea where they’re headed, but it’s not too long before they stop to visit the gravesite of a famous figure in world history. There, in a small Tennessee town, they meet Lindsey, a tour guide at the facility and her mother, Hollis, owner of the local factory.

As with Green’s hugely successful Looking for Alaska, the author creates highly developed and likable main characters. Hassan is everything that Colin is not: crudely spoken, unmotivated and ready for adventure. The young Singleton has always pushed himself to live up to his promise as a prodigy. Filling his head with useless trivia and extensive knowledge of obscure languages, it’s little wonder that he has never stopped to ask himself why he will only see girls named Katherine. Hassan is there to tell him when his digressions are boring, when he’s taking his obsessions too far and when he needs to break out of his comfort zone and take a chance.

While the book is told in the third-person point of view, Green’s narration echoes the thinking patterns of his main character. Through the course of the book there are dozens of footnotes, often with random tidbits of the kind that occupy his protagonist’s head. Rounding out the short book is an appendix of notes and formulas that expound upon Colin’s life and work.

This book is highly recommended for young adults, although adult readers will also appreciate this irreverent, cerebral and funny story.

Each Little Bird that Sings

Each Little Bird that Sings, by Deborah Wiles (2005)

Comfort Snowberger knows far more about death than the average 10 year old. Her family owns and operates the lone funeral home in rural Snapfinger, Mississippi and she has attended nearly 250 funerals.

The funeral home’s motto is “We live to serve,” and it is a dictum that the Snowberger clan take to heart. As her father prepares the departed for burial, Comfort’s mother handles floral arrangements and her elder brother tends the lawns. Even the family dog, Dismay, does his part by staying with the deceased in the preparation room and by standing stoically for visitations.

The author writes in her introduction about the inspiration for the book. In the four years that followed the publication of her last book she lost several family members. It was a situation that left her “suffocating in grief,” but through it all she learned “the meaning of friendship and the power of love.”

Wiles has written a tender, yet often funny book that deals with several coming-of-age issues. Death is an obvious theme, but the story also addresses the struggle of dealing with agitated family members in times of stress, as well as the strain on friendships as young people mature.

Highly recommended for ages 8 to 12, this book will appeal to young people with its strong story line and folksy, small-town humor. Adults will want their children to read a well-written book that confronts some of the struggles their children will face as they approach their teenage years.