A review by rknuttel
Just South of Home by Karen Strong
5.0
THIS IS A PERFECT MIDDLE GRADE BOOK AND I LOVED IT.
It’s got everything you would want in a book - summer, a small town, great family dynamics, spooky bits, mysteries, a crazy climax, some important history hidden in there, a smart and responsible protagonist, a silly little brother, a bearded dragon! I mean, do I need to go on?
But really, one of my favorite parts about this book is that it’s a ghost story, but it gets real about the terrible history of the Klan in the south, and how that history still impacts the community today. Kids need to understand the past, even the bad parts, so that we can all have a better future. Plus, it’s a fantasy with POC main characters who also grace the cover of the book!! More please, Karen Strong!
It’s got everything you would want in a book - summer, a small town, great family dynamics, spooky bits, mysteries, a crazy climax, some important history hidden in there, a smart and responsible protagonist, a silly little brother, a bearded dragon! I mean, do I need to go on?
But really, one of my favorite parts about this book is that it’s a ghost story, but it gets real about the terrible history of the Klan in the south, and how that history still impacts the community today. Kids need to understand the past, even the bad parts, so that we can all have a better future. Plus, it’s a fantasy with POC main characters who also grace the cover of the book!! More please, Karen Strong!