ROCKIN' READS:The Parker Inheritance

The Parker Inheritance
by Varian Johnson
Arthur A. Levine, 2018. Fiction, 331 p.
Candice has moved in to what used to be her grandmother's home for the summer. There she meets the neighbor boy, Brandon, and together they start to investigate the circumstances surrounding an event many years ago that had brought disgrace on her grandmother. Candice finds a letter among her grandmother's things that tells of a hidden treasure and contains clues to how it could be recovered. As Brandon and Candice follow the clues, they learn about the town's past which is steeped in prejudice and injustice.

Here is a book that is going to be on a lot of potential Newbery lists this fall. Johnson brilliantly unfolds multiple stories from different generations. One deals with the people in the town during the 1950's and their struggles with racial prejudice and segregation. Another deals with the problems of LGBT prejudice today. Johnson works in a great mystery and a sweet friendship. Give this to confident readers who liked Holes or When Your Reach Me.

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