My Crazy Corner

Hush Puppy by Lisa T. Cresswell
Featherweight Press, 2013

Hush Puppy is the story of Corrine Lamb, a seventeen year old black girl, and Jamie Armstrong, a poor white boy, living in a backwater North Carolina town. Intelligent Corrine, abandoned by her mother, and artsy Jamie, forced to play football by a redneck father, both dream of leaving their podunk town and never looking back.

Their shared love of literature and a dream of a better life brings them together and a romance blossoms between them in a secret place of their own in the steamy North Carolina woods. When Jamie is involved in the accidental death of a white girl, he's terrified of his abusive father. Corrine takes the blame to protect Jaime, with dire consequences for herself and her dreams of the future. Her life in danger, Corrine's left wondering if Jamie ever cared about her at all.

The events surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin underscore how prevalent fear and hate still is in our country. Sadly, many of the themes explored in Hush Puppy are extremely relevant to today's youth. It's my hope that Hush Puppy is a story not only about poverty and race, but about hope, friendship, and the power of love.  Enjoy~

                            

~Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive~

Simple and stunning, Hush Puppy is an emotionally powerful story that will stay with readers long after they’ve closed the final page. Crisp, evocative prose and a refreshingly realistic black protagonist make this novel a standout among YA literature. This uncommon YA novel is highly recommended, especially for public and school libraries. The difficult topics the book so deftly addresses are relevant today, and even the day-to-day difficulties of the high school classroom are presented realistically and without dramatic overindulgence.

With a lot of emotion and skill, Cresswell weaves together a story that promotes the power of friendship and the importance of being true to oneself.

Hush Puppy is a sweet, sweet story of conquering prejudices, forgiveness and family, and a reminder that positive perspective, determination, and the support of one special person are enough to overcome whatever trauma life may deal.

To read an excerpt and more about the author, click on over to www.lisatcresswell.com~  You can add her books to your 'to be read' list on Good Reads too!

~Meet Corrine~

My name is Corrine Lamb and my tombstone better not read "Born, lived, and died in Carolville, North Carolina". If I don't get outta this redneck town, go to college, and see the world, I'll be a complete failure. I'll join the Peace Corps if I have to. I live with my grandma, who’s about as protective as it gets. I guess she’s trying to make up for my mama running off and leaving me after daddy died. I had my whole life figured out before Jamie showed up, romancing me with his poetry and books. I never met such a crazy white boy. He’s so wicked smart, but he plays like he’s dumb so his redneck daddy won’t know. I never thought I’d fall for a white boy in a million years. He thinks he can’t go to college, but I’m gonna enter him in a writing contest for a scholarship and he’s gonna win. I just know it. He might be kinda mad when he finds out I took some of his writing, but when he wins, he’ll forget about that, right? I can’t sit by and let him waste his life. It’d be a damn shame.