While talking about race may be complex in 2020, in the 1950s, when the civil rights movement became a topic most in the U.S. could no longer ignore, blatant and subversive racism were the norm in society. This is the background in which Daven McQueen's evocative YA debut, The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones, unfolds.
Ethan Harper, a biracial teen, is sent to spend the summer of 1955 in rural Alabama. Living primarily on the West Coast with his white father, he is unprepared for the prejudices he encounters--a reality, Ethan later learns, his Black mother faced daily growing up. Not long after his arrival, he meets a quirky red-headed girl named Juniper. As their friendship blooms, the two are forced to navigate ignorance and violence as segregation slowly unravels in the South. Ethan watches horrified as innocent lives become collateral damage. Following a series of tumultuous weeks, Ethan thinks back on his summer with Juniper, what he's gained and lost: "She's the reason... The whole reason I made it through this summer. She showed me that people can be good and there can be hope, even when it hurts."
In the foreground of McQueen's novel are characters so vulnerable, their emotional complexities mirror those we struggle with and cherish in our own lives. McQueen's writing also reveals the precarious balance between hope and sorrow related to these controversial themes. How do families navigate shifting perspectives on race from one generation to the next or as relatives migrate to geographical regions with differing cultural norms? How and when do we stand up to confront injustice?
The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones is a work of historical fiction crafted to hook readers through an accurate depiction of what it means to discover--and grow into--one's identity. --Rachel Werner, Hugo House and The Loft Literary Center faculty