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by: Susan Vaught
Recommended Age: 10 years and above
Lexile: 850L
Content Warning(s): Alzheimer's, civil rights, death, PTSD, racism, violence
“Sooner or later, we’re all gonna be okay.”
That’s what Dani’s Grandma Beans used to say. But that was before she got Alzheimer’s. Lately, Dani isn’t so sure Grandma Beans was right. In fact, she isn’t sure of a lot of things, like why Mac Richardson suddenly doesn’t want to be her friend, and why Grandma Beans and Avadelle Richardson haven’t spoken in decades. Lately, Grandma Beans doesn’t make a lot of sense. But when she tells Dani to find a secret key and envelope that she’s hidden, Dani can’t ignore her. So she investigates, with the help of her friend, Indri, and her not-friend, Mac. Their investigation takes them deep into the history of Oxford, Mississippi, and the riots surrounding the desegregation of Ole Miss. The deeper they dig, the more secrets they uncover. Were Grandma Beans and Avadelle at Ole Miss the night of the Meredith Riot? And why would they keep it a secret?
The more Dani learns about her grandma’s past, the more she learns about herself and her own friendships—and it’s not all good news.
My Thoughts:
Reading this was extremely important to me because I, admittedly, had no knowledge about the race riots of 1962 that took place in the University of Mississippi (known as Ole Miss) because an African-American student, James Meredith, was enrolled.
The main character in Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry was Dani Beans, a biracial teen living with her family in Oxford, Mississippi. The book follows her navigating her town's history, personal teen drama and her grandmother's Alzheimer's.
To start every chapter in the book, the author includes excerpts of the fictional book "Night on Fire" by Avadelle Richardson which provides an in-depth account almost as if you were there during the race riots. The characters were all developed with their own backstories but I think after Dani, Indri was probably my favourite. :)
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read more about the less-talked-about parts of the civil rights movement in the US.
#civilrightsmovement #raceriotsof1962 #olemiss #racism #alzheimers #jamesmeredith #oxfordmississippi #thingstoohugetofixbysayingsorry
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