Book Description

2016-2017 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Master List 2016 Best Children's Book of the Year—Historical Fiction List, Bank Street College 2016 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People Grades 4-6 2017-2018 Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Master List Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2016—CBC/NCSS 2018-2019 Volunteer State Book Award Middle School List STARRED REVIEW! "Kidd writes with insight and restraint, creating a richly layered opus that hits every note to perfection...Beautifully written and earnestly delivered, the novel rolls to an inexorable, stunning conclusion readers won't soon forget."—Kirkus Reviews starred review STARRED REVIEW! "Along the way, Billie comes to grips with her own prejudices, inherited from her parents, in a way that is both lyrical and honest. In a year in which news events have made it clear that the civil rights movement is far from over, titles like Kidd's have special resonance. His focus on a lesser-known historical event provides a window into the past..."—Booklist starred review Thirteen-year-old Billie Sims doesn't think her hometown of Anniston, Alabama, should be segregated, but few of the town's residents share her opinion. As equality spreads across the country and the Civil Rights Movement gathers momentum, Billie can't help but feel stuck—and helpless—in a stubborn town too set in its ways to realize that the world is passing it by. So when Billie learns that the Freedom Riders, a group of peace activists riding interstate buses to protest segregation, will be traveling through Anniston on their way to Montgomery, she thinks that maybe change is finally coming and her quiet little town will shed itself of its antiquated views. But what starts as a series of angry grumbles soon turns to brutality as Anniston residents show just how deep their racism runs. The Freedom Riders will resume their ride to Montgomery, and Billie is now faced with a choice: stand idly by in silence or take a stand for what she believes in. Through her own decisions and actions and a few unlikely friendships, Billie is about to come to grips with the deep-seated prejudice of those she once thought she knew, and with her own inherent racism that she didn't even know she had.