This novel felt so timely and real it often took my breath away. The writing is lyrical, the dialogue brilliant with rhythms of music and moments of humor that left me laughing out loud. Three teenagers, who’ve been close since childhood, find themselves facing myriad dysfunctions common to left-behind communities of our time, but each of the cumulative family and societal pressures are genuine, not forced. One of the friends, Tyndall, is autistic. I don’t know how Steve Yates gained his insights into the thoughts and voice of an autistic teen, but she’s stunning both inside and out. Blessedly, the teens help each other to become resilient. These are characters who continue to live within me.
Casey, Tyndall, and Devon-kids from Southern Hollow subdivision-have been falling in and out of love with each other, and always at the wrong time. It's a Thursday night in September 2019, their senior year. Anything seems possible. And Casey's band, New Wave Vultures, packs them in on teen night at the Cedar Shake, a club on the square in downtown Springfield, Missouri. While all three feel trapped in the Ozarks, the coming pandemic is about to show them the grinding limits of true confinement and the power of music, love, friendship, and courage.
Although this son revered his father, the civil rights activist David Dennis Sr., he longed for a more present and personal relationship with him. The trust and understanding they develop in the course of their conversations, and the writing of this book, is truly remarkable. His son does not shy away from probing questions that confront his father with missed opportunities in their past. And what his father remembers and shares of his experiences in the Movement brought home the terrifying violence of that time. He also explained ways the activists were able to sustain their courage in the face of so much loss. I had heard David Dennis's searing speech at the memorial service in 1964 for the three murdered civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. I did not know the multiple times Dennis himself had narrowly escaped death at the hands of white segregationists. To know this history matters now, as we enter a time when white supremacy is again on the march and threatening the fragile progress we've made toward racial equality and justice. Thank you, David Dennis Jr., for sharing this powerful story.
“A story of triumph and resilience centered around those who dedicated their lives to the Civil Rights movement. It reminds us that, in order to truly appreciate how far we’ve come—and how far we still have to go—we must acknowledge the past and pay homage to those who laid the foundation. It reminds us that everyday people can be heroes if they stand up for what’s right. It reminds us that we’re not alone in our experiences, and that if we work together, we can make impactful change.”—Stephen Curry…
Wow! In this historical novel, Labatut has developed a totally original structure and writing style. I had barely heard of the polymath John von Neumann, but each aspect of math and science that he touched was indelibly changed forever. Programmable computers, artificial intelligence, you name it. Science, for better and for worse – a stroke of genius, then again, madness. Logic led von Neumann to the theory for nuclear deterrence of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). And the policymakers listened. Labatut builds his story solely through the eyes of those who knew John, whether family, friends, colleagues, or rivals. This novel is a tour-de-force that raises questions about science as it simultaneously furthers and threatens existence.
From the author of When We Cease to Understand the World: a dazzling, kaleidoscopic book about the destructive chaos lurking in the history of computing and AIJohnny von Neumann was an enigma. As a young man, he stunned those around him with his monomaniacal pursuit of the unshakeable foundations of mathematics. But when his faith in this all-encompassing system crumbled, he began to put his prodigious intellect to use for those in power. As he designed unfathomable computer systems and aided the development of the atomic bomb, his work pushed increasingly into areas that were beyond human comprehension and control…
In 1964, the FBI found smoldering remains of the station wagon that James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman were driving before they disappeared at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Shortly after, Julie Kabat’s beloved brother Luke arrived in Mississippi as a volunteer to assist Black civil rights workers who were challenging white supremacy in the nation’s most segregated state. As an activist, Luke grappled with issues that still plague us today. “I am fighting a nonviolent battle,” he wrote, “because I believe that hate begets hate and perhaps that love begets love.” Tragically, Luke died two years later leaving copious letters, diaries, and essays. Kabat delves deeply into their family history and meets fellow surviving volunteers and Freedom School students who declare the life-long legacy of Freedom Summer. The book is available in print and as an audiobook narrated by the author.
