The Everlasting Now (MG)

The Everlasting Now. Sara H. Banks. 2010. Peachtree Publishers. 176 pages.

When I first met Champion Luckey, I didn't know that he was going to change my life. Maybe you never know when that's going to happen; it's not like something you're expecting. It's more like getting struck by lightning and living to tell about it.

Historical fiction. Set during the Depression. In Alabama. In 1937. Our narrator, "Brother" Longstreet Sayre, is coming of age at a difficult time in America. One unforgettable summer, he becomes close friends with Champion Always Luckey. (He is the nephew of Lily Luther, the Sayre's housekeeper.) That friendship surprises and upsets. Some at least. Champion is black. Brother is white. During these months Brother sees the world around him in a new way. He notices the differences, the restrictions, the injustices for the first time. It's not like he thought the world was perfect before--he's lost his father; he's felt the rawness of pain and grief--but he is realizing that the world needs to be changed. And he wants to be a part of that change. He wants the world to be better.

I liked this one. Not like I love To Kill A Mockingbird. Not like I enjoyed Moon Over Manifest. Or The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had. But I did like it.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews