Synopses & Reviews
In 1968 Chicago, itand#8217;s not easy for thirteen-year-old Sam to be the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older brother, Stick, starts keeping to himself. Then, one day, Sam finds something under Stickand#8217;s bed that changes everything: literature about the Black Panthers. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore. And when Dr. King is shot and killed, Samand#8217;s fatherand#8217;s words are no longer enough to make him believe in changeand#8230;.This moving, coming-of-age story gracefully encompasses the scope of the struggle between the civil rights and black power movements through an intimate and relatable lens.
Review
"This explosive coming-of-age story, taut with tension and protest, propelled me along like the river of its title. Magoon is most certainly a new and serious talent to watch. An intensely significant story of emotional and historical depth that resonates with relevancy for our age." -- Sundee T. Frazier, winner of the ALA 2008 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It
Review
"An intensely significant story..." -- Sundee T. Frazier, winner of the ALA 2008 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award
Review
"This is an essential story that has been waiting for its time and its teller. A brave and brilliant accomplishment." -- Helen Frost, Printz Honor Award-winning author of Spinning Through the Universe
Review
"Vividly, poignantly, and without compromise, Kekla Magoon takes us to the heart of a world in the messy business of monumental change. The Rock and the River is an extraordinary book that brings unflinchingly to life an extraordinary moment in time." -- Tim Wynne-Jones, author of Rex Zero and the End of the World
Review
"What a rich and passionate debut novel! With both intensity and humor, the story that unfolds is at once riveting, disquieting, and ultimately most satisfying." -- Ellen Levine, Caldecott Honor Award-winning author of Henry's Freedom Box
Synopsis
Winner of the ALA Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award, The Rock and the River was described in a Booklist starred review as a "taut, eloquent first novel that] will make readers feel what it was like to be young, black, and militant." The Time: 1968
The Place: Chicago
For thirteen-year-old Sam it's not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever.
Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick's bed, he's not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.
Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect change without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he's involved in something far more serious--and more dangerous--than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?
Synopsis
In this "taut, eloquent first novel" (Booklist starred review) and winner of the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award, a young Black boy wrestles with conflicting notions of revolution and family loyalty as he becomes involved with the Black Panthers in 1968 Chicago. The Time: 1968
The Place: Chicago
For thirteen-year-old Sam it's not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever.
Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick's bed, he's not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.
Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect change without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he's involved in something far more serious--and more dangerous--than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?
Synopsis
The Rock and the River is Kekla Magoon’s poignant debut novel about an African-American boy's search for identity and brotherhood set in 1968 Chicago.
About the Author
Kekla Magoon is the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning and NAACP Image Award-nominated author of The Rock and the River. She lives and writes in New York City, but travel around the country presenting book programs and writing workshops for teens and adults. Kekla also writes non-fiction books for the educational market, and is coeditor of Young Adult and Children's Literature for the arts journal Hunger Mountain. She holds a B.A. in history from Northwestern University and an M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.