her hometown of Smyrna, Tennessee, as a twelve-year-old can get?maybe not in miles but certainly in mind set. A summer program for gifted young writers opens a new world. Jazz music in the street lulls her to sleep, her classroom is in a mansion called ?the Dark Tower,? and the author Zora Neale Hurston is her teacher, helping Lilly Belle come to a deeper understanding of the power of words, especially her own. Once again Patricia C. McKissack builds an involving story around real events and famous figures.

Hide more