My Year in the Middle
Books | Juvenile Fiction / Historical / United States / 20th Century
4.3
Lila Quintero Weaver
In a racially polarized classroom in 1970 Alabama, Lu’s talent for running track makes her a new best friend — and tests her mettle as she navigates the school’s social cliques.Miss Garrett’s classroom is like every other at our school. White kids sit on one side and black kids on the other. I'm one of the few middle-rowers who split the difference. Sixth-grader Lu Olivera just wants to keep her head down and get along with everyone in her class. Trouble is, Lu’s old friends have been changing lately — acting boy crazy and making snide remarks about Lu’s newfound talent for running track. Lu’s secret hope for a new friend is fellow runner Belinda Gresham, but in 1970 Red Grove, Alabama, blacks and whites don’t mix. As segregationist ex-governor George Wallace ramps up his campaign against the current governor, Albert Brewer, growing tensions in the state — and in the classroom — mean that Lu can’t stay neutral about the racial divide at school. Will she find the gumption to stand up for what’s right and to choose friends who do the same?
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Author
Lila Quintero Weaver
Pages
288
Publisher
Candlewick Press
Published Date
2018-07-10
ISBN
0763699837 9780763699833
Community ReviewsSee all
"This isn’t the first book I’ve picked up at TLA that focused on things like prejudice and bigotry, and yet these topics seem increasingly relevant these days. <br/><br/>Argentinian immigrant Lu Olivera is in sixth grade and is facing new and interesting challenges, such as “my friends have discovered boys and makeup and I don’t see the appeal” and “I’m really good at this sport but the others mock me for it” and “I want to be friends with this girl, but she’s black and people will talk”. <br/><br/>Okay, that last one is only a problem if you’re in 1970s Alabama…which happens to be the case here. We’ve achieved integration here, but already like half of the white parents are transferring their kids to a fancy all-white private school across town.<br/><br/>Belinda is an African-American girl in Lu’s class, is a great runner, great friend, and gels excellently with Lu; even better than Lu’s current best friend, Abigail. Sadly, the problem is Alabama. In the 70s. Here, the black and white kids sit on opposite sides of the classroom, with Lu and a few others right in the middle. For those of us who are fully installed in the 21st century, the attitudes portrayed in the book are mind-boggling. <br/><br/>And Weaver does an excellent job establishing these historical attitudes. We are treated to a scene of Abigail dragging Lu along to a rally for George Wallace, who is running for re-election. They only wanted to go for the cakewalk, because cake, but then Wallace comes out, Confederate flags a-blazin’ with racist rhetoric and ad hominem attacks on the current governor. The more Lu listens, the more unnerved she feels because she knows this isn’t right.<br/><br/>That’s the heart of the story- finding the courage to stand up for what’s right and finding friends that will stand with her. Which side will she choose? Should she keep her head down and stick with the friends she has, even though they’re starting to buy into the white supremacist rhetoric? Or should she take the leap to the other side, with friends who want to change the status quo no matter what pushback they get?<br/><br/>I absolutely loved this book, couldn’t put it down, and it’s one I definitely want to share with my students."
Lissy Strata