Historical Fiction
Date Published: Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Publisher: Peanut Butter Publishing
In rural Radford, Tennessee, in the 1950s, a white family is killed in an automobile accident.
Upon hearing the news of her parents’ and grandfather’s deaths, Jessa runs away with her dog, creating problems for her town, especially for the sheriff, her parents’ friends, and the Black community that falls under suspicion. Racial distrust shapes the town’s response to Jessa’s disappearance, and as the weeks stretch out, the weather poses increasing challenges for Jessa as she shelters in a hollow tree while attempting to provide for herself and her dog, Cassie. Help appears from an unexpected source as a family mystery is revealed.
The Missing Girl and the second book, Jessa Is Back, are placed right in the midst of “the good old days” and serve as a reminder of the unabashed nature and danger of white supremacy in the 1950s. These provide us an opportunity to examine the parallels in events unfolding today
Also in the Series
Historical Fiction
Date Published: Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Publisher: Peanut Butter Publishing
Jessa is a different person when she returns to her hometown.
The integrated schools in Oregon allowed her to form a friendship with a Black girl, and now she sees the local Jim Crow practices in Tennessee with new eyes. Supported by her Oregon relatives, she becomes an advocate not only for the inclusion of music throughout the school system of Radford, but also for friendships that cross racial lines. While she becomes a gadfly to the school board, her interactions with other members of her town precipitate crises that uncover support for her position as well as staunch opposition.
In the South, and also in the rest of the country, a long road stretches from the 1950s to the present, and we must judge how well we have lived up to the vision that Jessa’s discovery of interracial friendship revealed to her.
Review
I was lucky enough to read both of these books.
The Missing Girl starts the story and really paints the picture giving you backstory and plenty of information. It's easy to feel for Jessa as a character, you're on the journey with her. The author does an amazing job of that. I love the tone of the book and the way the authors voice shines through.
Jessa is Back continues the story and ties in so many important historical events. This series as a whole really highlights an important aspect of history as it comes to race. The fact that there have always been those that stray from the norm and do what is right. The friendship aspect was huge for me in this one. I love the bonds.
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