Customer Reviews

Checkered Fences

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In small town USA, racial barriers were in full force in the 1970's and were almost impossible to overcome. Checkered Fences is a book that delves into the racial issues of the time. The highest barrier of all was against love and romance between black and white. The insight and the tug of war between two young people is well illustrated in Checkered Fences and teaches the reader to open their mind and their heart to what could be in spite of what is. I loved Checkered Fences.

Checkered Fences takes us back a time we need to remember. There are plenty of books that deal with interracial relationships, but few go into the inner-mind of the person living through the incident and the family tragedies that are occurring during the relationship. Checkered Fences lets you see the real struggle of living through the personal life tragedies and as well as trying to maintain a relationship that at that time most people didn't attempt, especially black women. We need to remember so we can appreciate.

Checkered Fences, fiction based upon a true story by Alma Hudson, takes us back to the 1970s. The time is right, but one of the main families in the story probably should have lived sometime about 2000 or later. They are a white family. Diane Jones, the main character, is an 18-year-old African-American honors student, but she was also working as a nanny for Jerry and Ann Shaw... Diane's mother also worked for the Shaws.

Diane had a strong, traditional family. In fact, her father had picked out his wife by seeing her hard at work in the fields, and claimed her as his bride. So, it wasn't a surprise to Diane or her mother when Diane's father started to bring home young, suitable men so that Diane could pick her husband.

Except Diane was not interested in getting married at this time. She wanted to go on to school, Her father made it quite clear that if she got herself pregnant out of marriage, that he would not support her.

Diane looks back on her childhood's happier times and knew she loved her father dearly, but there was never enough money and the children started working early. Christmas came and went, and there were never any presents. The only thing Diane ever received were taunts from neighborhood children about what they got! She also shares the type of discrimination and fear she faced as a young girl at school, only to come home to fear her father when he got drunk and abused her mother. Until she got brave enough to speak back to her father, to prevent his beatings.

So when her father crudely told her about sex and what the boys would want from her, it wasn't surprising that she decided she didn't want anything to do with all of that; so she got as much work as she could find in order to earn a scholarship or money for college.

When her mother told her about the nanny job, it seemed a wonderful opportunity. Not only was she hired immediately, but she was given extra money to take the kids out for lunches and she was given the keys for her to drive one of the family's cars. Diane was amazed how she was being treated, but she knew better, she continued to act professionally and kept a distance from the family as would most employees.

But then their son David came home; Diane and David were immediately attracted to each other. Diane, however, was the one who kept insisting that a relationship was impossible, while David just pursued her...

It was the 1970s, but, to this day, Diane believes that God placed David in her life for a reason, ending her book with 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8...Love never fails...

No, this isn't the usual kind of love story; or is it? Two people meet each other and fall in love. Should their race differences have kept them apart? Should their families have disowned them and forced tradition on their children? If these questions are those that you have asked, or if you just enjoy a romantic story, I recommend you check out Checkered Fences by Alma Hudson. There is a main answer provided her in this story. It began a lot earlier than the 1970s though...it began when the book of Corinthians was first written...

G. A. Bixler

In the late 1970s in California, Diane takes a job as a nanny before heading off for college. The family is a wealthy one, with three children at home who need care while their parents are away. Chad, a son from the wife's previous marriage, tends to be a bit difficult but Diane is able to get him under control. What she doesn't expect is that the oldest son from the husband's previous marriage will show up with his mother one day. There is an instant attraction between them, but in the 1970s that is simply not acceptable - not to her family or his. Diane is from a militant Black family and David's parents are quite upper class.

Although Diane tries to push the attraction for David away from her, he won't let her. He touches her, holds her, even kisses her and finally asks her out on a date. He wants her to go ride his dune buggy with him. Diane agrees and the romance is on. How will they break the news to either of their families? What will the outcome be? Even though David's family has been quite nice to Diane, will they fire her now?

CHECKERED FENCES by Alma Hudson is a compact novel about the racism that has always plagued this country. For those who were not present in the late 70s, this is an educational novel that will open their eyes to the fact that what they see today has not always been. It is well worth reading.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

This was a very good book. A friend of mine recommended this book to me and I was in tears over how beautiful the story is. I thought the book was very well written, and the story is something that I can really realate to. I would recommend this book to anybody.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Checkered Fences, June 3, 2009

Checkered Fences
This review is from: Checkered Fences (Paperback)
In small town USA, racial barriers were in full force in the 1970's and were almost impossible to overcome. Checkered Fences is a book that delves into the racial issues of the time. The highest barrier of all was against love and romance between black and white. The insight and the tug of war between two young people is well illustrated in Checkered Fences and teaches the reader to open their mind and their heart to what could be in spite of what is. I loved Checkered Fences.


7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars This Story Began Long Ago..., March 2, 2010

Checkered Fences
Checkered Fences, fiction based upon a true story by Alma Hudson, takes us back to the 1970s. The time is right, but one of the main families in the story probably should have lived sometime about 2000 or later. They are a white family. Diane Jones, the main character, is an 18-year-old African-American honors student, but she was also working as a nanny for Jerry and Ann Shaw... Diane's mother also worked for the Shaws.

Diane had a strong, traditional family. In fact, her father had picked out his wife by seeing her hard at work in the fields, and claimed her as his bride. So, it wasn't a surprise to Diane or her mother when Diane's father started to bring home young, suitable men so that Diane could pick her husband. Read More ....Checkered Fences

Checkered Fences is a heartwarming story about two people, from different ethnic backgrounds, who fall in love. Diane Jones, a high school honor's student, grows up in a low-income family, but she studies hard and gets a scholarship to college. Diane's old fashion father decides it's time for her to marry. He himself married Diane's mother when she was just thirteen years old. Torn between her family values and goals, Diane has other plans and getting married isn't one of them.
Then Diane meets David, the affluent and handsome son of her employer. She is drawn to him as he is to her. They fall deeply in love. Diane fears her family won't accept David and that she will never fit into his lifestyle. Can love survive after they make their relationship public?

Checkered Fences
This is the story of Diane, a young African American woman, growing up from age 16 to early adulthood, in a black family in the 1960's and 70's. It was the time when Civil Rights took a foothold in this country and began its slow journey towards racial equality. I lived through that era and was a strong supporter of that movement. But I soon came to realize that irrespective of my feelings and involvement, I never truly understood what it was like to be a black American. In effect, I never walked in their shoes.

Alma Hudson gives a very personal picture of those days, presenting Diane's fears and trepidations as she tries to find her way into a world that was slowly changing for African Americans. Along the way, she has to deal with so many issues that white folks only had a rare glimpse into. It was not only entering a society of white people, but dealing with her father's strict beliefs, still trapped in the `old' ways, trying to pull her back. Then there is Diane's unexpected involvement with a white male, her own family's prejudices against whites, and the difficulties of a bi-racial relationship in a world where that was still a rarity. It is nice story of a woman's journey through a difficult period of racial transition in America.

This book took me back to my childhood and the Father and the Brother characters reminded me of people in my own family.

This book took me back to the seventies when romance was innocent.

I recommend to any woman who loves romance.

Val

The author crammed a potentially interesting story into 92 pages. There was no real depth to the characters and no build up to the love story. Save your money on this one!