I liked that the white girl at the center of this story set in 1961 was realistically portrayed as a child who had inherited racist views from her family. It seems like in children's historical fiction, young white American characters are somehow untainted by the culture of white supremacy that surrounds them. This story really examines how you can think you are a good person from a nice family (as Billie does) but be completely blind to what is really going on. Billie slowly wakes up to the injustice that has always surrounded her. I think this is (sadly) relevant to many young white Americans today. We might think everything is hunky-dory, but that's because we live in a bubble of privilege.

So I liked this book a lot. At the same time, I recognize that there are already too many books that center white voices in American history. So while I think this is a good book and that is has the potential to speak to young white readers where they are, it is important to boost books (especially those by African American authors) that center people of color. Do not read this without reading books by the likes of Christopher Paul Curtis, Rita Williams-Garcia, John Lewis, Carole Boston Weatherford, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Jacqueline Woodson, Kekla Magoon, and Walter Dean Myers (and others).