THIS PROMISE OF CHANGE by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy is incredible! The true story of the integration of Clinton High School in Tennessee, and the 12 Black students who bravely walked down that hill and through those doors, is related in verse, with multiple styles of poetry, and co-written by one of those courageous souls. This is so well-written, and broke my heart with its raw honesty. This is an important story, and I’m so grateful it’s being told now! The back matter is extensive, but so worth reading! Thank you for sharing your story, Jo Ann!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

'This Promise of Change' by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy tells the heartbreaking story of one girl's fight to integrate with 11 others into a white high school in the 1950s.

In 1956, schools were ordered to fall under the ruling of Brown VS. The Board of Education and integrate their schools. One of the very earliest was in Clinton, Tennessee. Jo Ann Allen was in high school and travelling to another town over to an all black school. She was chosen along with 11 others to be the first black student to attend Clinton's all white school. Things did not go well, but throughout, Jo Ann remains poised and determined. Things go from bad to worse as the town finds itself being influenced by outside white supremacists.

This book is really good. It's told in a variety of forms of poetry which I was afraid might detract from the story, but actually make it even more readable and interesting. The book includes timelines, photos, and clips from newspaper interviews. The story of this era is heartbreaking, but Jo Ann Allen's courage is a shiny example of faith and courage.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

I'm a big fan of novel-in-verse stories and, more recently, non-fiction in verse as well. My students have been exploring this format more in the last couple of years.

The combination of primary source material and the verse format make this a win for me!

Schools being desegregated feels like centuries ago, at least to me. It's not that far, though. My mom was in high school when her school was integrated (in Delaware), and while she doesn't remember any problems, I'd be very curious what her new classmates felt and if they would agree.

This is an astonishing book full of incredibly brave people. Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve people in her Tennessee high school to go to the formerly all white school. There were protesters outside and there were mean people inside, but some were nice. I can't even imagine the courage it took to walk to school every day, with people yelling (on good days) and throwing things (on bad ones). But they kept going. Sometimes they were accompanied by police and once by a white preacher, but they kept going. If school was open, they were there.

There are also snippets of newspaper articles and pictures of Jo Ann and the others, and there are pictures of some of the protesters. I sometimes wonder how they feel about the fact that they're on record as being racist. Does that bother them? I hope so. 

This is an amazing story, and I hope I would have even a tenth of Jo Ann's bravery in her situation. 

Highly recommended.