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Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome. 208 p. Holiday House, January, 2020. 9780823444427. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher ALAMW)
Middle Grade Monday features Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome. This historical fiction is a companion to Cline-Ransome's Coretta Scott King Honor winning, Finding Langston. It is Langston's bully, Lymon's story. You need not have read Finding Langston to enjoy Leaving Lymon. The story begins in Mississippi in 1938, where Lymon lives with his paternal grandparents, Grandpops and Ma. His father is in prison and his mother lives in Chicago. Lymon misses his father but adores his Grandpops who teaches him to play blues guitar. When Grandpops dies, Lymon moves to Milwaukee with Ma to live with his aunt and her family. His father is released from prison, but unable to settle down to care for Lymon, instead chooses to pursue his dream of being a musician. Then Ma falls seriously ill and Lymon is sent to live in Chicago with his mother and her husband, who beats Lymon and keeps the money Lymon's aunt sends.
While there is sadness and struggle in Lymon's younger life, he is surrounded by love and warmth. Unfortunately, Lymon's well-being become less secure with each complication leading readers to ache for him. Lymon's voice is matter-of-fact, almost resigned. The writing is spare and lovely. Each setting is vivid and characters are well-developed. Readers need not have read Finding Langston to enjoy Leaving Lymon but both are important works of historical fiction that are not to be missed.
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