For Lamb

November 15, 2022
Multiple narrators detail the danger and despair of growing up Black in Jim Crow Mississippi. Lamb Clark is a high schooler who, for the most part, embodies the gentle spirit her name implies even though she holds on to the hope that she'll be able to stand up for herself one day. Her older brother, Simeon, has a contentious relationship with their mother, Marion, a talented seamstress who is a little "rough around the edges" and wholly dedicated to her children. These three along with Marion's secret lover, Myrtle; her husband, Chester; and younger brother, Chime, guide readers through a book that looks directly at the indescribable horrors of lynching. Although the book is mostly set in 1940 Jackson, Mississippi, after Lamb befriends Marny, the White daughter of her racist optometrist, she feels hope that their friendship might bridge the gap created by hatred. Unfortunately, a tremendous tragedy shows Lamb that her optimism is irreparably misplaced. Vignettes from each character provide insights into their personal knowledge of insidious racism, with incidents of lynching linking generations within this family. The voices of the characters complement each other, and the movement through narrators creates space for the readers to breathe so that the tension that fills the book from the very first page doesn't completely overwhelm. An important and resolute depiction of the inhumanity of a still potent problem. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 14-18)

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December 5, 2022
The friendship between two teens, one Black and one white, sets off a series of tragic events in this potent, 1930s Mississippi–set novel by Cline-Ransome (Being Clem), told via multiple narrators. When Lamb Clark, described as “quiet as a lamb,” befriends Marny, the daughter of her small town’s optometrist, she’s privately excited for the distraction from her family’s personal drama and the opportunity to forge connection amid the racism she experiences daily. Her older brother, Simeon, who’s earned a full-ride scholarship to a college up north, is eager to escape their town and is constantly at odds with their seamstress mother, Marion, who’s struggling to hide her romantic relationship with her best friend, Myrtle. As Lamb’s friendship with Marny unfolds, the protagonist must decide what she wants outside of her family’s expectations and navigate the dangers of befriending a white girl in the Jim Crow South. The perspectives of the siblings’ absent father and their charming uncle, Chime, feature throughout, providing myriad looks into their experiences with racism, and at how their personal histories reverberate into Lamb’s present. In lyrical prose that displays adroit attention to historical detail, Cline-Ransome empathetically renders a perpetually optimistic protagonist whose hopeful outlook lends heartbreaking resonance to the narrative’s dark themes. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

Starred review from February 17, 2023

Gr 10 Up-In this sweeping tale of the Jim Crow South for a Black family, Cline-Ransome weaves the voices of the family and several outsiders toward a climactic end. Protagonist Lamb is a young Black girl living with her seamstress mother and older brother. And while Lamb's dad has been absent much of her life, she discovers his proximity to them. In connecting with her dad, she also befriends a white girl, and both budding relationships position the family for trouble. Emotionally gutting, Cline-Ransome's use of multiple points of view focuses the story on the deeper lives of each character. The characters are three dimensional, motivated by love, connection, fear, and ambition. The short chapters create a calm introspective pace as the story is introduced, which then turns into controlled chaos by the end and leaves readers breathless (and angry). The highly charged atmosphere that develops is similar to A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia and Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope P�rez both in the sweeping family tales and the connection to history. This book is a statement with its setting in Jackson, MS, in the 1930s, Lamb's mother's sexuality, Lamb and her brother's advancement through education, and the terrorism of the Ku Klux Klan on Black people. Unendingly powerful, the story and characters are unforgettable. VERDICT Leave no doubt that this should be purchased for collections serving older teens. There will be much to discuss.-Alicia Abdul

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2023
Lamb, shy protagonist and one of several narrators, tells of growing up in 1940s Jackson, Mississippi, with her brother, Simeon, and Marion, their tough-as-nails mother, a talented and outspoken seamstress and closeted lesbian. Lamb keeps quiet, works hard, and performs well in school. Headstrong Simeon, a brilliant student, aims to leave the South on a college scholarship and eventually earn a doctorate like his high school principal. Marny, a bookish, redheaded white girl, attempts to befriend Lamb, who finds the girl hard to refuse and meets with her secretly. Their relationship ultimately compromises the family's safety after Marny's older brother sexually assaults Lamb. When Lamb tells Simeon what happened, his retaliation sets off a series of brutal, life-changing events for the whole family. Cline-Ransome deftly creates unforgettable characters, each with a distinct voice, and exposes readers to the oppressive racism of the Jim Crow South. Tangentially connected to the Finding Langston trilogy (Finding Langston, rev. 9/18; Leaving Lymon, rev. 3/20; Being Clem, rev. 7/21), this standalone novel is a devastating page-turner that tells an all-too-realistic story. Michelle H. Martin

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 1, 2023
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* In 1940, shy teen Lamb lives with her mother and older brother Simeon in an African American neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi. All are mindful of the rules of segregation, although Simeon, anxious to attend college up north, frequently chafes against these strictures, causing discord with his mother. Then Lamb, whose gentle nature also makes her somewhat naive, meets a white girl, Marny, and is pulled toward the promise of friendship, until a horrible incident causes tragedy for everyone. Cline-Ransome's use of multiple narrators helps to flesh out the characters, allowing each to share secrets with readers: Lamb tends to keep quiet even as she clandestinely pursues her friendship with Marny and a relationship with her estranged father; Simeon works hard to get a university scholarship, yet his commitment to defend his mother and sister comes at great cost to his own future; and their mother, Marion, hides a lesbian relationship even as she does everything within her power to promote and protect her children. An author's note provides further information about lynchings, which helps to situate events within the realities of this place and time. Told with nuance and subtlety, this is a powerful story of striving to succeed in the face of nearly impossible odds.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
Lamb, shy protagonist and one of several narrators, tells of growing up in 1940s Jackson, Mississippi, with her brother, Simeon, and Marion, their tough-as-nails mother, a talented and outspoken seamstress and closeted lesbian. Lamb keeps quiet, works hard, and performs well in school. Headstrong Simeon, a brilliant student, aims to leave the South on a college scholarship and eventually earn a doctorate like his high school principal. Marny, a bookish, redheaded white girl, attempts to befriend Lamb, who finds the girl hard to refuse and meets with her secretly. Their relationship ultimately compromises the family's safety after Marny's older brother sexually assaults Lamb. When Lamb tells Simeon what happened, his retaliation sets off a series of brutal, life-changing events for the whole family. Cline-Ransome deftly creates unforgettable characters, each with a distinct voice, and exposes readers to the oppressive racism of the Jim Crow South. Tangentially connected to the Finding Langston trilogy (Finding Langston, rev. 9/18; Leaving Lymon, rev. 3/20; Being Clem, rev. 7/21), this standalone novel is a devastating page-turner that tells an all-too-realistic story.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)