Jubilee Journey

by Carolyn Meyer

Overview

In this compelling continuation of the Jefferson family story, thirteen-year-old Emily Rose visits her extended family in Texas for the first time ever. Emily Rose, who grew up in a biracial family in the northeast, is surprised that racial attitudes are so different in the South. But as she grows closer to her great-grandmother, Rose Lee, and learns more about her African American heritage, Emily Rose discovers a new dimension of herself.
    Includes a reader's guide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152058456
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/01/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	880L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Carolyn Meyer is the acclaimed author of more than fifty books for young people. Her many award-winning novels include Mary, Bloody Mary, an ABA Pick of the Lists, an NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, a New York Times bestseller; White Lilacs, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an NYPL Best Book for the Teen Age, and an IRA Young Adults' Choice; and Marie, Dancing, a BookSense Pick. Ms. Meyer lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visit her website at www.readcarolyn.com.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Meyer's strength is her large cast of compelling, multi-dimensional characters, whom readers will take to heart."—Booklist  

Editorial Reviews

"Meyer's strength is her large cast of compelling, multi-dimensional characters, whom readers will take to heart."—Booklist  —

From the Publisher

Gr 5-9This sequel to White Lilacs (Harcourt, 1993) takes a while to get going. At the conclusion of that book, Rose Lee and her family were struggling to cope with their enforced move to the Flats. The Texas town of Freedom had been demolished and the black community was trying to avoid complete disintegration. Jubilee begins some 75 years later in Connecticut with Emily Rose, 13, who knows little or nothing about her great-grandmother, Rose Lee; Juneteenth; or her black heritage. Her family is close to her father's white parents, but disconnected from her black Texas roots. The girl sees herself as both black and white, a "double." When, at Rose Lee's invitation, Emily and her siblings accompany their mother to Texas, the girl begins to learn about her African-American roots. Rose Lee, the teen heroine of White Lilacs, now in her 80s, tells about the family during the intervening years, and Emily's mother, Susan, fills in some background. For readers unfamiliar with the Juneteenth celebration, there is some good information here, but the valuable author's note included in the earlier title is not in the sequel. This absence of grounding leaves the story floating and of interest only to those who loved the first book. Those youngsters, in turn, will find disconcerting the fade of Rose Lee's voice in the second half of Jubilee, and her obituary seems tacked on to the ending. Virginia Hamilton's Plain City (Scholastic, 1993) has a richness and honesty that is lacking here.Carol A. Edwards, Minneapolis Public Library

School Library Journal

Meyer connects generations in this sequel to White Lilacs (1993), set 75 years later, as 13-year-old Emily Rose goes from Connecticut to Texas to celebrate Juneteenth with her 87-year-old great-grandmother Rose Lee. It's a journey of self-discovery in more ways than one: Biracial Emily Rose knows more about her father's French-Canadian family than her mother's African- American heritage, and is puzzling over her sense of identity. She and her two brothers are not prepared for the discrimination they encounter on the bus trip, the church burnings they hear discussed, or the sharp racial divisions they see when they arrive. Still, their eyes aren't really opened until brother Steven is beaten and arrested for hanging out with a white girl. Meyer develops the story at a leisurely pace, introducing large numbers of people, switching the point of view from Emily Rose to Rose Lee at odd moments, repeating thoughts or anecdotes, weaving in elements—e.g., Emily Rose's new journal, mentioned once, and her feelings about being biracial—then leaving them to dangle. Patient readers will be rewarded by learning how the characters of the first book turned out and will come to admire the lively young protagonist who shares her great-grandmother's strength of character.

Kirkus Reviews