Book Review 2: The Lions of Little Rock

The Lions of Little Rock, by Kristen Levine is about 1957/1958 in Little Rock, Arkansas, when there is a battle between the people who want to keep schools segregated and the people who want integration, and equal education for all races. The story begins with the life of Marlee, a quiet 12-year-old girl. Her biggest relationships are with her wonderfully kind and understanding older sister, Judy, her often rude and stuck-up "friend" Sally, and with the lions at the zoo, who comfort her. Then Liz comes. She becomes fast friends with Marlee and inspires her to talk more and show others what she is thinking. Then one day, Liz isn't at school, and the teacher tells Marlee Liz is sick and won't be coming back. The truth is that Liz has been caught "passing" as white. Marlee was about to retreat back into her "shell", but after she spoke to her Sunday school teacher, her father who was for integration and the family's black maid, Betty Jean, she starts to think about the injustices Liz and other black people face. She continues to see Liz in private, despite the dangers it could bring to their families and she also starts to work with organizations working for integration. One day when Liz and Marlee are meeting at the "rock crusher", an old quarry. JT, a boy from Marlee's grade and his brother Red, who come from a family against integration and colored people find Marlee climbing down a tree she was in with Liz. Liz was still in the tree and so Red and JT didn't know she was there. As Marlee starts to leave she stumbles on what she thinks is a rock, but that is actually a box of dynamite from the old quarry days. Red bullies JT into helping him take the dynamite home. Marlee tells her parents, and they call the police, the police search JT and Red's house but they don't find the dynamite. A few days later when Marlee and her parents and Liz and her parents are at Betty Jean and her husband, Pastor George's house, Red drives by and throws a brick with lit dynamite on it inside the house. Marlee gets everyone out quickly and no one is hurt, but Liz's parents decide they don't want Liz and Marlee to be friends anymore. When Marlee sees Liz for the last time, Liz gives her the digits of her new phone number. The story ends with a new chapter of Liz and Marlee's friendship.

I think the theme in this book is to fight for your friendship. My first piece of evidence is when Marlee's dad is driving her to school and Marlee asks, "Can you find her for me? Maybe get her phone number?"(73). Another piece of evidence is when Liz and Marlee are seeing each other at the zoo and Liz says, "'Give me the book for a minute.' I handed the book to her. Liz pulled a pen out of her coat pocket and began to write on the front leaf of the book. When she was done, she handed it back to me"(96). Liz hands the book to Liz with what's called a magic square and says, "The first two and the last two digits are the year,' said Liz. I looked: 1958. "The other five are my phone number'"(96). My last piece of evidence is when Liz got in trouble and she said, "'It'll be Halloween before I'm let out again,' said Liz. 'Sorry,' I said. 'I don't know what I was thinking.' 'You were thinking like a true friend,' said Liz"(290).

The setting in this book is 1957/1958 in Little, Rock Arkansas. In the beginning of the book Marlee is happy and at peace with her family. One piece of evidence of that is, "My sister and brother and Daddy are the only ones I feel really comfortable talking to,"(5). In the middle towards the end of the book Marlee is scared because the violence is increasing towards her family and colored people, Liz and her family in particular. A piece of evidence for that is when Liz gets a phone call and she answers it, "It was a man's voice. ' Is this Richard Nisbett's daughter?' 'Yes,' I said politely. 'Little nigger lover,' he snapped. 'You'd better watch yourself, because-'"(138). At the end of the book Marlee is happy because Liz gives her phone number indicating that she still wants to be friends. My piece of evidence for that is, "On the seat where she'd been sitting, was another three-by-three magic square. The first two and last two digits were the year, 1959. And the other five numbers, well, they were her new phone number."(290).

I would totally recommend this book to other 7th grade readers. Ms. Levine makes you feel like this story is happening right in front of you eyes. You can feel the hurt when Liz leaves without a goodbye. You can feel the rage when Red is treating colored people like scum. Also, this book seems really important now, in the midst of these shootings of young black people by white place officers and the officers getting away with it. It really made me realize that even though our schools aren't segregated anymore, that we can go to the same bathrooms, use the water fountains and ride in the same part of the bus now, does not mean that colored people today are treated fairly, and we need to fight for their rights as much as we fight for ours.