FEBRUARY 2015 - AudioFile
Cassandra Morris’s youthful voice is perfect for spunky Gloriana. Glory is looking forward to summer days of swimming in the community pool and celebrating her twelfth birthday. But the year is 1964, and the place is Hanging Moss, Mississippi. With the arrival of Northerners who plan to run a clinic, friendships, politics, and values are about to change. In a slight Southern accent, Morris makes Glory sound believably indignant when her sister chooses her cosmetics over a game of “junk” poker. Morris also captures Glory’s mixed emotions as she looks back on her decision to share secrets. Supporting characters, especially thoughtful housekeeper Emma and spiteful Mrs. Simpson, are memorable, with Morris’s portrayals adding to the story’s verisimilitude. An afterword by the author completes the production. A.R. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
The hot summer of 1964 in Hanging Moss, Miss., is the setting for Scattergood’s modest debut, featuring high-spirited Glory, who is looking forward to celebrating her 12th birthday on the Fourth of July with her traditional party at the town pool. But the civil rights movement is sprouting throughout the South, and a group of Freedom Workers has arrived in Hanging Moss, causing consternation among many townspeople and resulting in actions that dismay Glory—like the closing of the segregated pool. Scatter-good divides the characters a little too neatly into the good guys (Glory’s preacher father and her sister, Jesslyn; their loyal housekeeper, Emma; and the town librarian) and the bad guys (the high school football star; his town councilman father; and prejudiced busybody Mrs. Simpson), but she aptly portrays Glory’s emotional confusion as she struggles to understand and cope with the turmoil. Also well done is the changing relationship between Glory and Jesslyn, as well as her roller-coaster friendship with her best buddy, Frankie. Scattergood’s effective snapshot of the fight against segregation, one town at a time, makes personal the tumultuous atmosphere of the times. Ages 9–12. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Praise and Accolades for GLORY BEA NPR "Backseat Book Club" selectionFeatured on NPR's "Weekend Edition"with Scott Simon A Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee"There's a whiff of Carson McCullers in Augusta Scattergood's story of a sultry Southern summer long ago when the outside world moved all the markers of Glorianna Hemphill's growing up. It's a summer of bigotry and behive hairdoos, of sit-ins and dangerous boys. All mixed together and beautifully recalled."—Richard Peck, Newbery Award-winning author of A YEAR DOWN YONDER"GLORY BE is a lovely debut novel for younger readers, akin to Kathryn Stockett's THE HELP—an important read that raises powerful racial issues of the 1960s American South."—Kathryn Erskine, National Book Award-winning author of MOCKINGBIRDGLORY BE weaves a seamless story of sisterly love, broken friendships, and the strength that it takes to stand up for the right thing. Augusta Scattergood is at the top of my debut-authors-to-watch list."—Barbara O'Connor, Parents' Choice Award-winning author of HOW TO STEAL A DOG"In Glory herself, tilting on the threshold of adolescence, Scattergood paints a balanced portrait of childlike selfinterest and awakening integrity. This moving, intimate look at America's struggle for civil rights, as seen through the narrow lens of one growing girl, will spark interesting discussion."—BOOKLIST"This debut offers a vivid glimpse of the 1960s South through the eyes of a spirited girl who takes a stand."—KIRKUS REVIEWS"Scattergood's effective snapshot of the fight against segregation, one town at a time, makes personal the tumultuous atmosphere of the times."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"Glory is an appealing, authentic character whose unflinching convictions, missteps, and reflections will captivate readers."—SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
School Library Journal
Gr 5–8—Spunky, engaging Gloriana Hemphill, 11, describes the "freedom summer" of 1964 in Hanging Moss, MS, where winds of social change are beginning to upset the status quo. In a series of eye-opening adventures, Glory learns that her sheltered life as a preacher's kid has overshadowed her awareness of injustice and intolerance in her town. When the segregated community pool is closed indefinitely, her predictable world is upended. A new girl arrives from Ohio with her mother, a nurse who will be running a Freedom Clinic for poor black people. Big sister Jesslyn's new boyfriend reveals that he was once jailed in North Carolina for sitting with a "colored friend" at a white lunch counter. Meanwhile, best friend Frankie spouts dislike of Yankees and Negroes but is clearly manipulated by a racist father and an abusive older brother. Although Glory's ingenuous, impulsive behavior often gets her in trouble at home and in the community, she learns the importance of compassion, discretion, and self-awareness. A cast of supportive adults helps her mature: her patient, widowed father; her beloved African American housekeeper; and the open-minded local librarian. This coming-of-age story offers a fresh, youthful perspective on a pivotal civil rights period. Historical references to Attorney General Robert Kennedy's visit, the influx of civil rights workers, and Elvis vs. The Beatles popularity are included. But the richness of this story lies in the Mississippi milieu, the feisty naïveté of the protagonist, and the unveiling of the complexities of human nature. Glory is an appealing, authentic character whose unflinching convictions, missteps, and reflections will captivate readers.—Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC
FEBRUARY 2015 - AudioFile
Cassandra Morris’s youthful voice is perfect for spunky Gloriana. Glory is looking forward to summer days of swimming in the community pool and celebrating her twelfth birthday. But the year is 1964, and the place is Hanging Moss, Mississippi. With the arrival of Northerners who plan to run a clinic, friendships, politics, and values are about to change. In a slight Southern accent, Morris makes Glory sound believably indignant when her sister chooses her cosmetics over a game of “junk” poker. Morris also captures Glory’s mixed emotions as she looks back on her decision to share secrets. Supporting characters, especially thoughtful housekeeper Emma and spiteful Mrs. Simpson, are memorable, with Morris’s portrayals adding to the story’s verisimilitude. An afterword by the author completes the production. A.R. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
The closing of her favorite swimming pool opens 11-year-old Gloriana Hemphill's eyes to the ugliness of racism in a small Mississippi town in 1964. Glory can't believe it… the Hanging Moss Community Pool is closing right before her July Fourth birthday. Not only that, she finds out the closure's not for the claimed repairs needed, but so Negroes can't swim there. Tensions have been building since "Freedom Workers" from the North started shaking up status quo, and Glory finds herself embroiled in it when her new, white friend from Ohio boldly drinks from the "Colored Only" fountain. The Hemphills' African-American maid, Emma, a mother figure to Glory and her sister Jesslyn, tells her, "Don't be worrying about what you can't fix, Glory honey." But Glory does, becoming an activist herself when she writes an indignant letter to the newspaper likening "hateful prejudice" to "dog doo" that makes her preacher papa proud. When she's not saving the world, reading Nancy Drew or eating Dreamsicles, Glory shares the heartache of being the kid sister of a preoccupied teenager, friendship gone awry and the terrible cost of blabbing people's secrets… mostly in a humorously sassy first-person voice. Though occasionally heavy-handed, this debut offers a vivid glimpse of the 1960s South through the eyes of a spirited girl who takes a stand. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
