It's hard to be a "Black Sheep Baxter," at least for 12-year-old Polly. From a poor white family, Polly's best friend, Timbre Ann Biggs, is black, making them the only "salt-and-pepper" friends in town. But in that fall of 1959, life in quiet Holcolm County starts to heat up as one by one, thriving colored businesses burn to the ground. When someone throws a note wrapped around a brick through the window of Biggs Repair, Polly worries that Timber Ann will be blinded by the color of her skin and forget they were ever close. When a tragic fire brings everything to a head, the spotlight falls on Polly's family. Sensitively painting a vivid portrait of the Jim Crow South, Polly's inspiring story captures the defiant spirit of youth in an oppressive small town, just as the seeds of the Civil Rights Movement begin to sprout.
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From School Library Journal
Grade 5–9—In 1959, in Holcolm County, GA, there is a palpable tension. Times are slowly changing, causing resentment among some folks and optimism among others. The volatile mix sets the tone for this story of family, friendship, and racial discrimination. Jim Crow is the law of the South, separating the races, but it cannot dictate human emotions, creating the pivotal struggle of the novel. Twelve-year-old Polly Baxter, daughter of a poor white couple, and 14-year-old Timbre Ann, child of a black business owner, share the most improbable thing in this environment—a friendship. When suspicious fires, vandalism, and threats to successful black business owners cause fear and distrust among the townspeople, the strength of Polly and Timbre Ann's bond is tested. It is further jeopardized after a tragic incident threatens to separate them forever. The connection between the two girls and their families is beautifully described and believable, and the richness of the characters is apparent. The pacing of the story is deliberate and suspenseful with twists and turns that add to the bittersweet conclusion.—Margaret Auguste, Franklin Middle School, Somerset, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
It’s the 1950s, and times are hard in 12-year-old Polly’s small southern town. Her white family is struggling to get by, especially after Daddy loses his job. Mama works as caregiver for the Judge’s ailing mother and gets a housekeeper job in the same home for her close friend, Henrietta (“Henri”), who is black. Polly’s best friend is Henri’s niece, Timbre Ann, but the girls have to keep their relationship secret as racial tension builds, black stores are torched, and even the sheriff condones the local violence. Is Polly’s dad part of the group that is setting fires? The cast is huge in this first novel; just about everyone in town plays a role, and it is hard to keep all their relationships straight. But Polly’s first-person narrative shows the heartbreaking family and friendship drama, making personal the n-word insults, the struggle and the fury of the poor whites, and the shocking persecution of blacks. The good guys are not idealized. Polly’s quarrels with Timbre Ann run deep, and healing the hurt takes more than just saying sorry. Grades 7-10. --Hazel Rochman
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Dramatic Debut,
This review is from: Between Us Baxters (Hardcover)
BETWEEN US BAXTERS is a work of extraordinary sensitivity. The dynamics of small-town racism, family secrets, and most movingly, the bond between two girls whom no one wants to be friends are all portrayed with great honesty and attention to detail. A beautifully written and tensely plotted work -- readers will still be thinking about Polly, Timbre Ann, and the choices they face long after the last page.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Diamond,
This review is from: Between Us Baxters (Hardcover)
Between Us Baxters, by Bethany Hegedus is a diamond waiting for readers to find. It is a tale of familial and cultural relationships brought to a breaking point in 1959 Georgia.The settings are the white side of town and the Tracks, the black side of town. The conflict builds in intensity from the first page to the last. This is the kind of book that I couldn't wait to get on the subway to read (that's my longest stretch of reading time - as a straphanger) and actually stayed on the platform for when I got off at my work stop so that I could finish it. The narrator, Polly is a like-able and struggling girl who as a protagonist was easy to root for and feel for. I especially liked that the mother and father were complex characters in their own right, neither one falling into stereotype, acting in surprising ways that became apparent as appropriate for them in hindsight. So many times the parents in YA fiction are simply cut and predictable but Ms. Hegedus has created wonderful characters that struggle in the gray area of right action, safe action, best action for yourself, and best action for people you love. The feeling for the period of the book is perfectly evoked through dialog, simple details (black and white TV, three in the seat of a truck without seat belts), and Jim Crow Laws (who can sit in the back of the bus and who can sit in the front). A scene of Polly riding on a bus with her mother and having to watch a black woman with a crying baby leave the bus, knowing they'll have to walk the rest of the way because they don't have enough money to pay double fare, is heartbreaking. The issues of race and class are well delineated and provide the constraints from which all the players act out their dramas. The ending is wrenching and not neat, but that is as it should be. The marketing for this book says it's for 5th - 9th grade and I can see this would be a terrific read for that age group - challenging them with its ideas and putting them (the reader) in the position of asking him/herself what they would do in Polly's situation? But don't let the marketers stop you if you're an older kid or adult from picking this diamond up and examining it page by page yourself. You'll find it well worth the time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful & Important Story,
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This review is from: Between Us Baxters (Hardcover)
Boys and girls--of all races and backgrounds--would benefit from reading this powerful book set in the Jim Crow South. The novel deals with some difficult themes but in a sensitive and ultimately hopeful way. It is both broad and deep, and its characters, who would be so easy to stereotype, are finely crafted and as nuanced as real people. Like real girls, Polly and Timbre Ann (and their "salt and pepper" friendship) aren't perfect. But they learn from their mistakes and grow. This is an amazing literary debut, and I can't wait for the author's next novel, Truth with a Capital T, coming out next month!Full disclosure: The author is a good friend, but as a journalist and former member of the National Book Critics Circle, I would never review a book favorably if I didn't really like it. YA books are my passion, and there are plenty of great ones to promote. This is one.
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