Our July reading selection is THE ROCK AND THE RIVER by Kekla Magoon.

The Time: 1968

The Place: Chicago

For thirteen-year-old Sam it’s not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever.

Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick’s bed, he’s not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.

Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect chnage without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he’s involved in something far more serious — and more dangerous — than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?

Hey Corner Members–

This month, we’re mixing it up. In place of our monthly author chat, you’ll have the opportunity to submit questions for Beverley Naidoo to answer.

All you have to do is email us at bookclub@commongroundfoundation.org with your username and questions. We’ll select as many questions as we can (we may not be able to choose everyone’s question due to space limitations, but we’ll try). Then we’ll post Beverley Naidoo’s answers here on THE CORNER blog.

We’ll be accepting questions until Friday, July 3, so think of what you want to know and email us!

Check out this cool book trailer for BURN MY HEART. It was created by the Palos Verdes Library District. Tell us what you think about it!

We’ve begun reading the June selection, BURN MY HEART, which is about the friendship of two young boys from two different backgrounds–a European child whose family “owns the land,” and an African child whose family works for them.

The book really shows the power of friendship. What do you think about friendship? Is it a bond that can survive challenges? Have any of your friendships ever been tested by outside forces?

What does it mean to be loyal?

Mathew and Mugo, two boys—one white, one black—share an uneasy friendship in Kenya in the 1950s. They’re friends even though Mathew’s dad owns the land and everything on it. They’re friends despite the difference in their skin color. And they’re friends in the face of the growing Mau Mau rebellion, which threatens British settlers with violence as black Kenyans struggle to win back their land and freedom. But suspicions and accusations are escalating, and an act of betrayal could change everything.

Internationally acclaimed, award-winning author Beverley Naidoo explores the fragile bonds of friendship in this stunning novel about prejudice, fear, and the circumstances that bring people together—and tear them apart. Click here to learn more about Beverley Naidoo!