Devil on My Heels - Softcover

McDonald, Joyce

4.13

242 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440238293 ISBN 13: 9780440238294

Publisher: Laurel Leaf, 2005

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It’s 1959 in Benevolence, Florida, and life is as sweet as a Valencia orange for 15-year-old Dove Alderman. Whether she’s sipping cherry Cokes with her girlfriends and listening to the Everly Brothers, eating key lime pie made by her housekeeper, Delia, or cruising around town with the coolest boy in school in his silver-blue T-bird convertible, Dove’s days are as smooth and warm as the soft sand in her father’s orange groves.

But there’s trouble brewing among the local migrant workers. Mysterious fires have broken out, and rumors are spreading that disgruntled pickers are to blame. Suddenly, black and white become a muddy shade of gray, and whispers of the KKK drift through the Southern air like sighs. The Klan could never exist in a place like Benevolence, Dove tells herself. Or could it?
From the Hardcover edition.

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Review:

Review: Benevolence, Florida, in the late 1950's doesn't seem like it could be the scene of ugly racism and violence. Fifteen-year-old Dove Alderman reads poetry, strolls through her daddy's orange groves, and rides around with Chase Tully in his silver-blue T-bird convertible. So when fires start breaking out in the groves, and nasty spats happen on the streets of Benevolence, the truth is slow to dawn on Dove. Her awakening is agonizing, but ultimately freeing.

In this complex and moving novel by Joyce McDonald (Swallowing Stones, Shades of Simon Gray), a privileged teen discovers that the line between right and wrong is often blurry, but important to establish. McDonald delves into the chilling world of the Ku Klux Klan, depicting the fear at the core of the hatred. Dove's education will parallel that of young readers who may not yet comprehend the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which one group can fear and oppress another--even half a century after this story takes place. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

About the Author:

Joyce McDonald is the author of many outstanding novels for teens, including Swallowing Stones, an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults, and Shades of Simon Gray, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a nominee for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. She lives in Blairstown, NJ.
From the Hardcover edition.

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