ONE FINE VOICE

Langston-George offers a YA historical novel about a talented 11-year-old singer who discovers the cost of courage in her small town.

The story, set in Grayson, Indiana, in 1923, follows Esther Hopkins, who’s long been praised for her singing talent by her fellow churchgoers. When her new best friend Anne-Marie Lombardi’s safety is threatened and her father’s ties to the Ku Klux Klan come to light, she must decide how and whether to use her voice to stand up for what’s right. The book opens with the town abuzz over the upcoming Independence Day picnic, where Esther has been promised the coveted solo. Her father, the newly ordained Baptist minister, dismisses any concerns over the event’s mysterious new sponsor with assurances that the group is merely a club that “promotes high moral standards in the community”: “That’s a good thing,” he says. “Can’t protest a group doing good things.” His eagerness about the group, which is revealed to be a branch of the KKK, soon grows into full participation. He becomes the branch’s chaplain and continues defending them, insisting that the bigotry of “old branches down south” is a relic of the past, and that such ugliness could never happen in Indiana. When the group targets Anne-Marie’s immigrant family, Esther must weigh her loyalty to her family against the demands of her conscience; in doing so, she risks her father’s anger, the Klan’s retaliation, and the safety of her home. Overall, Langston-George delivers a compelling and unsettling look at community complicity and an inspiring tale of moral awakening. It offers an intimate perspective on an aspect of American history through the eyes of a child—someone who may not grasp every political nuance of her situation, but who understands, instinctively, the difference between right and wrong.

A swift, compelling story about standing strong against hate.