White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer
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(Paperback)
- Pub. Date: October 1993
- 256pp
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Product Details
- ISBN-13: 9780152958763
- ISBN: 0152958762
Synopsis
A moving tale of the struggle to preserve a community
Annotation
In 1921 in Dillon, Texas, twelve-year-old Rose Lee sees trouble threatening her black community when the whites decide to take the land there for a park and forcibly relocate black families to an ugly stretch of territory outside the town.
The ALAN Review
Carolyn Meyer has taken a kernel of history and imagined a most moving elaboration and yet another memorable female protagonist. Rose Lee Jefferson draws each house in Freedomtown, including her grandfather's, which contains the extraordinary garden where the rare white lilacs grow, to create an illustrated historical record before the town is literally moved away. During the 1920s, the residents of Denton, Texas-the white, voting residents, that is-actually did move an African-American community to make room for a city park. The novel contrasts the lives of Rose Lee and her relatives with those of the white family for whom they work. This is a realistic portrayal of the precarious existence of African-Americans in the South and how their sense of community and faith helps them survive. Varying attitudes towards segregation are reflected in the actions of both segments of the town, and unlikely heroes emerge. Meyer gives us believable characters and a good story which will give middle school and high school readers a greater understanding of the human drama in American history.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
CAROLYN MEYER is the celebrated author of more than forty books for young people, many of which have received awards and honors. She lives with her husband in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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White Lilacsby Anonymous
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October 28, 2008:
Have you heard about the Civil Rights Movement? If you have, then you could make some connections between that and White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer. White Lilacs is about a twelve year old African American girl, overhearing some white women discussing moving the blacks out of Freedomtown into a junky, gross-smelling place so the whites will have yet another park. Her friends, and her family, are being forced to leave Freedomtown, Texas by the white people of the town of Dillon, due to their race. The K.K.K. (or Ku Klux Klan) burn a cross in front of their church when they refuse to leave. Then they burn down the schoolhouse so they can't have school. The blacks are trying to fight back, but will it work? Will they be able to fight for what's right and get to stay where they have always lived? Or will they just give up and live their lives in misery?
Rose Lee is very brave. She is thoughtful, shy, loyal, and adventurous. She is a tall African American, has brown hair, and is only twelve years old when Poppa tells her to spy on the white people. Father to Rose Lee, Poppa, is very proud, serious, and loyal. He is a very tall and muscular man, and is very informational. He tells Rose Lee to spy on Mrs. Bell who happens to be the one woman he despises the most. She is causing the move of blacks from Freedomtown. Mrs. Bell is a very rich, stuck-up, snooty woman. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and thin body are always up to no good. Momma, Grandpa Jim, Henry, Catherine Jane, and Aunt Tillie are just a few of the supporting characters, also fighting for their right to live in Freedomtown.
White Lilacs is an amazing book. I liked that I could read it with no problems, and it always kept me wondering what was going to happen next. I loved how all of the characters are different, have their own opinions, and their own talents. I liked how the words were very descriptive, and I could understand them. There aren't any huge twists, or remakes of other stories, so this one is unique. If I had to rate this book on a scale of one to ten, I would give it an eleven. It is a very good book and I recommend it to everyone.
Realistic, without being too graphicby Anonymous
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May 02, 2008: Rose Lee's story of her life in and out of Freedomtown is one that clearly demonstrates the struggles of the African-Americans during the early 1900's. Rose Lee's love for her home, her town, her freedom is tainted by the fact that though slavery has ended, the whites are still in control of their lives. The author carefully weaves strong African figures into the story, as well as those who are too tired or too afraid to be strong themselves. Meyer also includes a few passionate, sympathetic whites who also show their strength in their support of equallity for ALL men. What I liked most is that the author was able to give the readers a real idea of the characters' strife, without resulting to graphic and frightening events. The readers are told enough to know the situation, but the story does not become grotesque.
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