The Past's Portrayal of Today's Problems.
The continuing problem of bullying and the festering divide in race relations tear at our country. Their roots are in out past. Bully Route Home provides a picture of where we've been and of a time and place which we strive not to return. "Pooch" Robertson is a 12 year old growing up in the 1940's rural South. He learns about the realities and the shortcomings of the world he lives in when a bully terrorizes him. Pooch chooses to walk home from school by making a detour through the black quarters to avoid daily beatings. The friendship he forms with a black youth forms a chain of events that threatens to spiral out of control and plunge the community through full-fledged race war. Walk with Pooch as he, his parents, and others struggle to avoid the conflict and plant a seed of racial understanding.
Bully Route Home won the prestigious Royal Palm Literary Award for best literary manuscript. Some of the Judge's comments are:
- "The following is just about the highest compliment I can give a book. It is reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, not just in plot, but in language, mood, and adventure."
- "I was never pulled out of the story- It flowed beautifully."
- "Where do I begin? When I read, I underline good verbiage- I underlined practically this entire entry."
- "... the writing is masterful."
- "The setting is so rich that I felt like I was there. The characters are richly developed without sounding stereotypical."
- "This book rocks".
- "What a beautiful fresh voice."
