The Sweet Shade of a Chinaberry Tree [Paperback]

Janice Ward Parrish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Gaynell McGowan, forced to spend the summer of 1963 in her little town of Beulah, Alabama, returns home from college to face a provincial purgatory until classes resume in the fall. But history is about to strike Beulah like a deadly tornado. A federal order to integrate the high school shakes the town to its foundation and pits friend against neighbor. White citizens polarize into integrationists and segregationists with both sides claiming the favor of God and vying for the favor of reporters and news cameras that swarm over the town. Gaynell welcomes the disruption of a stagnant small-town summer, but then finds herself swirling at the scandalous center of the storm. And she finds her family, as well as her town, tearing apart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Enduring painful violence and loss, Gaynell learns about life outside the refuge of the chinaberry tree. This beautiful coming-of-age story captures the mind and soul of a turbulent time in history. --Christine Jackson, literature professor and author of MYTH AND RITUAL IN WOMEN'S DETECTIVE FICTION, Plantation, Florida --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759948070
• ISBN-13: 978-0759948075
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,832,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small Town Civil Rights, October 1, 2005

By 

Emanuelle "Emmie" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sweet Shade of a Chinaberry Tree (Paperback)

This is a beautifully told story of the McGowan family and their neighbors in a small Southern town in 1963 when the old order of their town is annihilated by a federal order to integrate the schools. The book incorporates a vivid cast of characters, a delicate love story, a family imploding under the crush of history, and a town in mortal combat with the future to create a real page-turner!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good History, Good Story!, October 19, 2005

By 

'Bama Bob (Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sweet Shade of a Chinaberry Tree (Paperback)

Since I am history buff, I enjoyed this book hugely because it is clearly well researched. It got the period right and it tells a heck of a good tale. I couldn't put it down.