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Summary and Reviews of This Side Of The Sky by Elyse Singleton

This Side Of The Sky by Elyse Singleton

This Side Of The Sky

by Elyse Singleton
  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (9):
  • First Published:
  • Sep 1, 2002, 304 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2003, 304 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

In this lifelong story, Lilian and Myraleen struggle through dramatically changing times: From the stark realities of life in rural Mississippi, through the different sort of racism they find in workaday Philadelphia and France during World War II.

An epic and touching story of two best friends charting their uncertain way through segregation and war, to love.

In her funny, moving, and ambitious debut, Elyse Singleton introduces us to two inseparable and hard-minded idealists. Young Lilian endures the tribulations of Nadir, Mississippi, on the purity of her faith in people and her growing belief in herself. Her best friend, Myraleen, gets by on her sharp tongue and her unwillingness to give in-and perhaps because Lilian is always with her.

In this lifelong story, Lilian and Myraleen struggle through dramatically changing times: From the stark realities of life in rural Mississippi, through the different sort of racism they find in workaday Philadelphia and France during World War II. For these women, the road to maturity in the messy American century is long and ragged. Along the way, Myraleen falls for a Tuskeegee flier and Lilian for a German prisoner of war. And each time they reassert their oldest ideals, everything they believe in is tested again--most of all what love requires in such a world.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
Award-winning journalist Elyse Singleton has penned a lyrical, sweeping tale that soars on powerful wings. From the Depression-burdened South to prewar Philadelphia and across an America devastated by a common hatred, This Side of the Sky is an epic made real through the eyes of two friends and the men they love.

Library Journal - David A. Berona
Although this book presents an informed glimpse of segregation before and during the war, the characters are never completely developed, and many events feel too contrived. All the facts are here but not enough of the feelings.

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Read-Alikes

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