Why read Never?

Book cover of Never

Book description

“Those were just the times.” That’s how Morris “Little” Nickerson has always chosen to describe the incongruities of his childhood in the segregated south. But when a call from his older sister prompts Little, who is now in his seventies, to return to his hometown of LaSalle, Georgia, he finds…

Explore

Topics

Genres

Coming soon!

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Never as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ellen Prentiss Campbell

Author

A review copy of Joel F. Johnson’s debut novel, came to me this spring in advance of publication. Sadly, I did not have time to read it. Months later, I rediscovered it in my book basket. A lucky find!

Johnson tells a retrospective coming-of-age story set in a fictional Southern town during the Civil Rights movement. The narrator, now elderly and living in Boston, flashes back to the transformative summer when he first began to recognize his own privilege and unthinking prejudice, his father’s racism, and his mother’s quiet defiance.

This novel is a subtle, nuanced story. The characters are…

From Ellen's 3 favorite reads in 2023.