About this item
Highlights
- "If you aren't already 'woke, ' you will be after reading this book.
- Author(s): Jeffrey Blount
- 312 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, African American
Description
About the Book
Evan Walls is terrified by the birth of his first child because he doesn't want her to suffer the isolation he had as a child. Seeing his torment, his wife, Izzy, prods him to explain. He tells of being a black child growing up in the racially charged 1960s.Book Synopsis
"If you aren't already 'woke, ' you will be after reading this book."--Mary Batten, author of Aliens from Earth
EVAN WALLS IS TERRIFIED by the birth of his first child because he doesn't want her to suffer the isolation he had as a child. Seeing his torment, his wife, Izzy, prods him to explain. He tells of being a black child growing up in the racially charged 1960s. Inspired to overcome the racism and class status imposed on blacks, he dreams of a life bigger than that lived by most everyone he knows in the small Virginia town of Canaan. He is resented by friends and family for desiring a life better than theirs. Among the smartest in his class, Evan becomes a target of white kids threatened by the forced integration of their schools. Caught in a crossfire of hate from whites and his own people, who question whether he is black enough, Evan is often alone and bewildered. Only the love of his great grandmother, Mama Jennie, and his mentor, Bojack, keeps him on track. Together, they help Evan find perspective and peace.
Review Quotes
"If you aren't already 'woke, ' you will be after reading this book."--Mary Batten, author of Aliens from Earth
"The Emancipation of Evan Walls is one of the most sensitively told, yet brutally honest reflections on race and identity in recent history." --Jonathan Odell, author of Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League
"Jeffrey Blount has written a timely novel of enormous power. Evan Walls shows the kind of courage we wish weren't needed, but still is today--the courage to defy convention, step beyond boundaries and risk everything to live the life you desire. The Emancipation of Evan Walls is a page turner and more, an important addition to today's crucial conversations about race and privilege." --Masha Hamilton, author of 31 Hours
"I found this story shocking and thought-provoking. There is so much inherent drama to Evan's story. His world is well-drawn from the get-go. There is a great feel for the place and time and the dialogue is superb." --Christina Kovac, author of The Cutaway