Other editions of book Spite Fences

Thirteen-year-old Maggie Pugh has lived in Kinship, Georgia, all her life.In all that time almost nothing has changed. If you are poor, you live on thewest side of town. If you are rich, you live on the hill in the north end andget to go boating at the country club in Troy. If you are white you use onebathroom at Byer's Drugs and if you are colored you use another.All that starts to change in the summer of 1960. It is the summer when Maggie'syounger sister, Gardenia, triumphs in the Hayes County Little Miss Contest. Itis the summer when Maggie must decide whether or not to tell anyone about thehorrible thing she saw. Most of all it's the summer of Maggie's first camera, atool that becomes a way for her to find independence and a different kind oftruth.

This award-winning novel (International Reading Association, American Library Association, many others) is about 14-year-old Maggie Pugh's coming of age in the Jim Crow South. Life for Maggie Pugh has never been blissful. Her father is withdrawn, and her mother cares only about helping Maggie's little sister, Gardenia, win a beauty pageant. Yet events in the summer of 1960 in Kinship, Georgia, add to Maggie's troubles. Her friend Zeke, a black man who has listened to Maggie's concerns and even given her a camera, is arrested after he uses a restroom designated for white people. Maggie manages to overcome the ignorance and cruelty surrounding her, and she uses the camera Zeke gave her to understand and communicate the white community's abuse of the blacks to the world.“The courage and vision of the 1960s South…are posted on Spite Fences for all to see. It is a masterful, sobering display.” Booklist “A book of this caliber comes along only rarely.” Family Life “Characters emerge as complex individuals, not pawns of a political agenda; Maggie’s final triumph is a tribute to all who have suffered for justice.” Publishers WeeklyThrough Krisher’s stunning narrative and achingly real characters, Maggie’s pain and redemption are brought to vivid life.” Kirkus ReviewsFor information about the author: www.trudykrisherauthor.com

Thirteen-year-old Maggie Pugh has lived in Kinship, Georgia, all her life. In all that time almost nothing has changed. If you are poor, you live on the west side of town. If you are rich, you live on the hill in the north end and get to go boating at the country club in Troy. If you are white you use one bathroom at Byer’s Drugs, and if you are colored you use another. All that beings to change in the summer of 1960. It is the summer when Maggie’s younger sister, Gardenia, triumphs in the Hayes County Little Miss Contest. It is the summer when Maggie must decide whether to tell anyone about the horrible thing she saw. Most of all it’s the summer of Maggie’s first camera, a tool that becomes a way for her to find independence and a different kind of truth.

Kinship, Georgia, in 1960 is just a sleepy Southern town. Thirteen-year-old Maggie Pugh knows how things work: the rich live on one side of town; the poor live on another. Pretty girls get love; plain ones don't. Black and white don't mix. When the winds of civil rights start blowing through Kinship, Maggie sees violence boil to the surface.Through her camera, a gift from a black friend, Maggie focuses first on the injustice in her own family, then on the cruelty accepted by the town. She wonders if anything can change the hatred that has built so many fences between people. Spite Fences is a stark portrait of the crippling effects of small-town racism and prejudice. It won the International Reading Association Award and is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Parent's Choice Honor Book. Narrator Kate Forbes captures Maggie's courage and inner turmoil in this work, which is sure to spark discussions among young adults, parents, and teachers.