A Heart Divided
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Is the Confederate battle flag a racist symbol—or a proud reminder of Southern heritage?
When Kate’s liberal-minded family moves from the suburbs of New York City to a small town near Nashville, Kate is convinced her life is over. Redford lives up to Kate’s low expectations. The Confederate battle flag waves proudly in the sky, the local diner serves grits and sweet tea, and country music rules the airwaves. Then she meets Jackson Redford III, scion of the town and embodiment of everything Dixie. And dang if brilliant, gorgeous Jack doesn’t make Kate decide that maybe her new hometown isn’t so bad after all. But a petition to replace the school’s Confederate flag symbol is stirring up trouble. Kate dives right in, not afraid to attack what she sees as offensive. Getting involved means making enemies, though, and soon, Kate and Jack—and their families—find themselves pitted against each other in a bitter controversy: not just about the flag, but about what it means to be an American.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Shortly after Bennett and Gottesfeld's (the Trash series) strained novel opens, a family move wrenches 16-year-old narrator Kate from her suburban friends and beloved playwriting workshops in New York City, and immerses her in Redford, a small Tennessee town. Disgusted when she learns that the Confederate flag is the emblem of the high school football team, called the Rebels, Kate joins a campaign to change the team's insignia and name, a crusade spearheaded by a black girl. Meanwhile, Kate loses her heart to Jack Redford, a handsome, popular, too-good-to-be-true senior whose family has given the town its name and a long line of military heroes. While his mother assumes Jack will follow his ancestors and enroll at the Citadel, Jack longs to be an actor and Kate, of course, encourages him to follow his dream. The simmering racial tensions reach a crescendo when the burning of a Confederate flag before a big football game triggers a m l e during which a gun goes off and in a stretch of credibility Kate's younger sister is the only person wounded. The tale comes to a melodramatic close with a play written by the heroine, who throughout has been trying to find an authentic voice. The issues here offer much to ponder, but the presentation, like the relationship between Kate and Jack, often seems close to soap opera. Ages 12-up.
