Em-o-ry

Kentucky, 1948.
Thirteen-year-old Emory Bowen Jr. knows the rules of his small Southern town: obey his preacher father, read his Bible, and never cross the color line. But when a Black visitor is lynched for his ‘sidewalk’ offense, Emory’s world cracks open. Secrets spill from his family—his mother’s obsession with ‘souvenirs’, his sister’s dangerous liaisons, and his father’s fiery defense of ‘God’s chosen order.’
A white woman’s murder and the Klan’s hunt for ‘nasty Coloreds’ force young Emory to decide his future. One lie would protect his family. His truth could destroy them all.
From Kentucky’s small-town tranquility to a desperate midnight escape across the Ohio River, Em-o-ry is a gripping coming-of-age story about faith, fear, and defiance in this world built on hate—to which he must return.
For readers of Harper Lee, Colson White-head and Jesmyn Ward—the novel lays bare life under Jim Crow—and the minute-by-minute courage it takes to break free.