Stella by Starlight

Stella by Starlight
by Sharon M. Draper
Antheneum Books, 2015. Fiction, 320 p.

Stella lives in a small segregated town in North Carolina in 1932. It has been a long time since the Klan has been active in that area, but one night, not long before the presidential election, Stella sees the white-clad Klan members burning a cross in a nearby white town. Stella and her neighbors are afraid, but they rally around Stella's father and two other men who decide to register to vote despite Klan threats. When hatred leads to tragedy, Stella learns that kindness and courage comes in all colors. Draper's well told tale, inspired by her own ancestor's experience, shows how individuals and communities bravely worked for racial equality long before the Civil Rights Movement. Readers will cheer for Stella who has the courage to confront the Klan, and her own insecurities.

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