How High the Moon

By Karyn Parsons

A girl uncovers family secrets and faces racial injustice in 1944 South Carolina.

3.9/5 Goodreads · 1,385 ratings

320 pages

$7.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

In 1944 South Carolina, 12-year-old Ella navigates bullying and racial tensions while yearning for her absent mother. A Christmas visit reveals startling truths about her family, and upon returning home, Ella is confronted with the shocking arrest of her schoolmate George for murder. As she grapples with these revelations, Ella must find her place in a world intent on holding her back. How will she reconcile her discoveries with the harsh realities of the Jim Crow South? This poignant tale explores identity, family, and resilience in the face of adversity.

From the publisher

To Kill a Mockingbird meets One Crazy Summer in this powerful, bittersweet debut about one girl’s journey to reconnect with her mother and learn the truth about her father in the tumultuous times of the Jim Crow South.”Timely, captivating, and lovely. So glad this book is in the world.” –Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming In the small town of Alcolu, South Carolina, in 1944, 12-year-old Ella spends her days fishing and running around with her best friend Henry and cousin Myrna. But life is not always so sunny for Ella, who gets bullied for her light skin tone and whose mother is away pursuing a jazz singer dream in Boston. So Ella is ecstatic when her mother invites her to visit for Christmas. Little does she expect the truths she will discover about her mother, the father she never knew and her family’s most unlikely history. And after a life-changing month, she returns South and is shocked by the news that her schoolmate George has been arrested for the murder of two local white girls. Bittersweet and eye-opening, How High the Moon is a timeless novel about a girl finding herself in a world all but determined to hold her down.

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