The Reckoning
-
- USD 8.99
-
- USD 8.99
Descripción editorial
A powerful contemporary novel about an aspiring 12 year-old filmmaker whose world is turned upside down when his grandfather is slain in a senseless and racist act of violence. From the author of the award-winning memoir, Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South and co-editor of Recognize! An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life.
"A powerful reminder to never stop speaking the truth." -Kirkus Reviews
Lamar can’t wait to start his filmmaking career like his idol Spike Lee. And leave behind his small town of Morton, Louisiana. But for now, Lamar has to learn how to be a filmmaker while getting to know his grandfather.
When Gramps talks about his activism and Black history, Lamar doesn’t think much about it. Times have changed since the old Civil Rights days! Right? He has a white friend named Jeff who wants to be a filmmaker, too, even though Jeff’s parents never let him go to Lamar’s Black neighborhood. But there’s been progress in town. Right?
Then Gramps is killed in a traffic altercation with a white man claiming self-defense. But the Black community knows better: Gramps is another victim of racial violence. Protesters demand justice. So does Lamar. But he is also determined to keep his grandfather's legacy alive in the only way he knows how: recording a documentary about the fight against injustice.
From the critically acclaimed author and the publisher of Just Us Books, Wade Hudson comes a riveting, timely, and deeply moving story about a young Black filmmaker whose eyes are opened to racial injustice and becomes inspired to follow in his grandfather's activist footsteps.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hudson (Defiant) takes a microscope to the complicated role that protests and video evidence play in investigating and acquiring justice for the murder of Black Americans in this straightforwardly told tale. Black middle schooler Lamar Philips dreams of becoming a famous filmmaker like his idol, Spike Lee. Inspired by his grandfather's stories about participating in the civil rights movement, Lamar endeavors to make a documentary about Gramps's life; he also digs into the Black history of his Morton, La., hometown, and becomes interested in the contemporary machinations of Morton's leadership. But before Lamar can start working on the film, Gramps is killed in a shooting. The perpetrator, a white man who was once the head of the local KKK, claims self-defense, setting off a series of protests demanding justice and that the local authorities conduct a full investigation. While the movement builds steam, it sheds light on Morton citizens' latent racism. Hudson utilizes an evenly paced story line and clear-eyed narration to explore systemic prejudice through the lens of a young Black filmmaker grieving the death of an inspiring loved one, resulting in a multilayered depiction of segregation and contemporary racism in America. Ages 8–12.
