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A Novel
by Susan Henderson
Book Reviewed by:An extraordinary debut from a talented new voice, Up from the Blue untangles the year in Tillie's life that changed everything: 1975, the year her mother disappeared.
Tillie Harris's life is in disarray—her husband is away on business, the boxes in her new home aren't unpacked, and the telephone isn't even connected yet. Though she's not due for another month, sudden labor pains force Tillie to reach out to her estranged father for help, a choice that means facing the painful memories she's been running from since she was a little girl.
An extraordinary debut from a talented new voice, Up from the Blue untangles the year in Tillie's life that changed everything: 1975, the year her mother disappeared.
Susan Henderson has gifted readers with a poignant story of family, resilience and hope "as we accompany Tillie on an emotional journey, which takes her to both the possibility of forgiveness and a future not determined by the bonds of her past"...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Jennifer Dawson Oakes).
In 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down its judgment for Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas. In their landmark unanimous (9-0) decision, the Court stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal", and thus ruled segregation to be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. This ruling overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" decision of 1896 which had reinforced segregation, paving the way for integration and the civil rights movement.
Despite the Supreme Court's ruling, by the late 1960s many schools remained effectively segregated due to demographic and socio-economic issues and, in some...
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Censorship, like charity, should begin at home: but unlike charity, it should end there.
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Caroline Leavitt, author of Girls in Trouble and Pictures of You
Haunting and unsettling, Up From the Blue's real alchemy is the way it uncovers the stories that alternately save us and keep us from our real truths. Incandescently written, this is a stunning debut with heart.
