Yankee Girl

Description

It's 1964 and Alice has moved to Mississippi from Chicago with her family. Nicknamed 'Yankee Girl' and taunted by the in-crowd at school, Alice soon discovers the other new girl Valerie - one of the school's first black students - has it much worse.Alice can't stand the way Valerie is treated, and yet she knows she will remain an outsider if she speaks up. It takes a horrible tragedy to finally give Alice the courage to stand up for what she believes.Set in the Deep South in the 1960s, Yankee Girl is a powerful, resonant and relevant story about racism and doing the right thing.

Mary Ann Rodman wanted to be a writer since the age of three, but was only inspired to write Yankee Girl, her first novel, after leaving her job as a librarian and moving to Thailand. The experience of dealing with a completely different culture reminded her of her childhood years spent in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s. Mary Ann moved to Mississippi when her father, an FBI agent, was sent there to investigate hate crimes during the civil rights movement. Yankee Girl is based on the author's personal experiences of that time and her character Alice Ann is, she says, "an improved version of me, someone who I wish I could have been". Mary Ann Rodman is married with one daughter and now lives in Alpharetta, Georgia.

A wonderful book about the power of friendship which will appeal to all ages. * School Librarian Journal * I thought that this book was fantastic, as a reader you share and possibly relate to Alice's troubles of friendship and growing up. This book is not just a book that reflects on an important event in American history, but is also a book about change and acceptance of other people. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in American history and who enjoys books about moving from childhood to adulthood. * Annemarie Simmons, The Historical Novels Review * Just wanted to tell you that I was impressed by Yankee Girl - as a first novel it's quite an achievement, real insight into the protagonist, and very good creation of the setting of the 60s South. No easy ending, either. Hope to hear more of Mary Ann Rodman. * Pat Pinsent, Editor of IBBYlink and Senior Research Fellow at Roehampton University * The novel charts the year in Alice's school life when she struggles to reconcile what she knows to be right, and her need to be popular. Readers will learn that this struggle is more difficult and more complex than they could probably imagine. They will be shocked by Yankee Girl. They will be shocked by the racism, mindless and mindful - that is perpetuated, not just by nameless systems and politicians, but by 11 year old girls and boys and their parents and teachers. And they will be moved by Alice and her conscience and her very real need to belong. Yankee Girl is a subtle novel. Young people should be encouraged to read it. Along with "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" and "To Kill A Mockingbird", it will change the way they understand the modern world and the people who live in it. * Vivienne Smith, Write Away * "A wonderful book about the power of friendship which will appeal to all ages." * School Librarian Journal *