Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case ~ Reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes

"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men."

Few cases were more aptly named than Loving vs. Virginia, which pitted an interracial couple - seventeen year old Mildred Jeter, who was black, and her childhood sweetheart, a 23 year old white construction worker, Richard Loving against Virginia's laws banning marriage between blacks and whites. After marrying in Washington D.C. and returning to their home state in 1958, the couple was charged with unlawful cohabitation and jailed. According to the judge in the case, Leon M. Brazile, "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents... The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." Judge Bazile sentenced the Lovings to a year in prison, to be suspended if the couple agreed to leave the state for the next 25 years.

The Lovings left Virginia and went to live with relatives in Washington D.C. When they returned to visit family five years later, they were arrested for traveling together. Inspired by the civil rights movement, Mildred Loving wrote to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy for help. The couple was referred to the ACLU, which represented them in the landmark Supreme Court case, Loving vs. Virginia (1967). The court ruled that state bans on interracial marriage were unconstitutional.

This Documentary Novel was written beautifully. I am not a huge reader or a huge fan of documentary novels, but this novel was the best I have read in a long time. It made me understand the Loving vs. Virginia case and made me feel sympathy for the people who were involved. It also shed light on Civil Rights in the late 1960's. Poetic, and very illustrated with courage and hope.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the copy.

BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

Please answer the questions in the comments below. Please indicate which question you are answering in each of your comments. These questions were submitted by Elizabeth Barnes, Library Assistant.

1. What intrigued you the most about the cover of “The Dead House”? Did it give you a feeling of how the book would play out? 

 

2. Dissociative identity disorder is characterized by the presence of two or more personality states. Which girl in your opinion is more real? Carly or Kaitlyn? Explain why. 

 

3. “Black Magic” is referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes. Why would Carly want to practice black magic to get rid of Kaitlyn? 

 

4. What are your thoughts about the communication between Carly and Kaitlyn in the diary, and how they would leave notes for each other, real or fake? 

 

 5. How did you feel about the format of “The Dead House?” Did you enjoy how it was set up in diary form? Including police reports, interviews, and psychiatric reports? Explain. 

 

6. What do you think really happened to Juliet after Nadia’s Halloween party? Did Kaitlyn kill her? 

 

7. What surprised you most about Kaitlyn's love interest, Ari? What surprised you about her “long lost brother” The Viking? 

 

8. What do you believe is so symbolic about “the dead girl” that Kaitlyn kept on seeing throughout the novel? 

 

9. The novel leads up to an incident of the entire school catching fire. Do you believe Kaitlyn set this fire on accident? Or was it an intentional suicide/self-immolation? 

 

10. This novel had many different characters and side characters. Who was your favorite character? Who was your least favorite character? Explain why.

September Book Club

A little horror to start the season off right!
Meeting date: Wednesday, September 28 at 8 am in the Library
Discussion questions coming soon.
From Goodreads:

Three students: dead.
Carly Johnson: vanished without a trace.

Two decades have passed since an inferno swept through Elmbridge High, claiming the lives of three teenagers and causing one student, Carly Johnson, to disappear. The main suspect: Kaitlyn, "the girl of nowhere."

Kaitlyn's diary, discovered in the ruins of Elmbridge High, reveals the thoughts of a disturbed mind. Its charred pages tell a sinister version of events that took place that tragic night, and the girl of nowhere is caught in the center of it all. But many claim Kaitlyn doesn't exist, and in a way, she doesn't - because she is the alter ego of Carly Johnson.

Carly gets the day. Kaitlyn has the night. It's during the night that a mystery surrounding the Dead House unravels and a dark, twisted magic ruins the lives of each student that dares touch it.

Debut author Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves together a thrilling and terrifying story using psychiatric reports, witness testimonials, video footage, and the discovered diary - and as the mystery grows, the horrifying truth about what happened that night unfolds.

Olivia Decoded (#2) ~ Reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes

 

 

 

 

"This isn't my Jack, who once looked at me like I was his world. The guy who's occupied the better part of my mind for eight months. This is Z, criminal hacker with a twisted agenda and an arsenal full of anger."

 

Olivia has spent the past year trying to get her life back on track. New school. New Friends. And a brand new attitude. If Olivia cannot break through "Z" and reach old Jack, someone is going to end up getting hurt.... or worse, killed.

 

The good girl meets bad boy is not anything new, however, the way things play out and the many things Olivia gets drawn into are certainly not like anything else I have ever read in any book.

 

Olivia was a lovely heroine. She hasn't had the best life, from her drug addict mother, to her hopping from foster home to foster home. But, she was still a genuinely good person. She had values that she couldn't compromise, which I think made her an admirable character.

 

Z, on the other hand was complicated. He delights in his criminal activities, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with them. To his perspective, it's basically like taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Also, he's manipulated people into the web, then left them to fend for themselves. But, I don't think he was a bad person. At least, not until he met Olivia. She reminded him of a sense of goodness. She made him rethink his life and see it from a different perspective.

 

When I initially requested "Olivia Decoded," I did not realize that it was the second book in the series. I believe that if I had read the first book, I may have enjoyed this book much more. If you have not started the series yet, then make sure you start at the beginning! 

 

Vivi Barnes has a great writing technique, and the characters are interesting. The overall storyline is very well put together. It is a wild ride of hackers, stalkers, secret identities, and romance.

 

Special thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the copy of "Olivia Decoded" by Vivi Barnes.

I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars.